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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22511476">Hydrangeas Say Our Family Will Flourish</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kumikoseph/pseuds/Kumikoseph'>Kumikoseph</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Language Of Flowers [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A Wild Karen Appears, Attempted Kidnapping, Babies, Breastfeeding, Character Development, Cravings, Cute Kids, DIY Struggles, Dirty Talk, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, First Steps, First Words, Fluff, Food Poisoning, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, Jotun Babies, Jotunn Loki (Marvel), Light Angst, Light Dom/sub, Loki has concerns, Loki has heart eyes for his wife, Lullabies, Magic, Non-Consensual Touching, Prank Wars, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Kink, Protective Loki (Marvel), Romance, Self-Hatred, Sexual Roleplay, Sick baby, Singing, Smut, Unsolicited Parenting Advice, Vomiting, Wet Dream, dad Loki, parenting, pregnancy hormones, shopping for baby supplies</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 09:20:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>175,217</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22511476</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kumikoseph/pseuds/Kumikoseph</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After all of the challenges Loki and Amelia had faced, who could have known that raising children was going to be the most difficult?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Loki (Marvel)/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Language Of Flowers [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/980412</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>810</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>452</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Art of Magic</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Welcome to instalment number 4 of The Language Of Flowers! :D</p>
<p>The first three or so chapters will be Loki and Amelia's "honeymoon" aka relaxation time in Asgard (before eventually heading back to Manhattan), and they will be having some fun times and some not so fun times! xD I've gotta drag some light angst in somewhere, it's always fun to write and people love it. But obviously it won't be anywhere near the level of angst in the previous stories. Just a sprinkle of it here and there to keep that drama going. To keep that hurt/comfort in the tags xD</p>
<p>Obviously, I will be adding more tags as we go along, and this story is marked explicit, there WILL be sexual scenes ;)</p>
<p>After the first few chapters, it'll basically be all about the pregnancy and babies :) Hope you're all excited for it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The air was warm the morning after their wedding. It was the soft, floral scent wisping through the room that had eventually roused Amelia from her comfortable slumber, and when she blinked her eyes open, they adjusted to the glow of sunlight that streamed in through the curtains hanging from the bed posts.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was the perfect thing to wake up to. The dull ache in her muscles reminded her of the enthusiastic night of passion she and Loki had shared together, and just thinking about it brought a lazy, tired smile to her face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki was there beside her, still drifting amidst the blissful unaware, sprawled out across the huge bed; if Amelia had moved even an inch, it would probably have been enough to jostle him awake, but the sight of him looking so peaceful and open in his state of repose was enough to keep her as still as possible. It was a surprise that the sound of her sigh when she’d opened her eyes hadn’t been enough to wake him, like it had many times before.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Perhaps it was because Loki felt truly secure within the palace of New Asgard, and thus allowed himself to relax more easily, or perhaps it was the many rounds of sex from the previous night, in addition to the exciting day they’d had, that left him utterly spent.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Either way, Amelia was thankful for the quiet moments she could spy upon Loki’s tranquil face without his knowledge. He looked so damn </span>
  <em>
    <span>adorable </span>
  </em>
  <span>when his eyebrows weren’t furrowed, like how they seemed to permanently be while he was awake - not that it made him any less attractive, of course. Her </span>
  <em>
    <span>husband </span>
  </em>
  <span>was the most gorgeous of men.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The realisation that she could actually call him that now was enough to coax a giggle from her throat. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Husband. </span>
  </em>
  <span>They were </span>
  <em>
    <span>married. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia could have jumped for joy if her muscles didn’t protest the idea.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A quiet snort from Loki indicated his stirring, and Amelia smoothed her palm out over his bare chest, leaning over to gently kiss the corner of his mouth. Then, as an afterthought, she ran a teasing finger around one of his nipples.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It prompted him to shiver and inhale a deep breath, and before Amelia could process it, her hand was snatched up and held above her head, and her husband was poised above her on all fours, a languid desire shining in the beautiful green hue of his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You really want to get me going again?” Loki murmured, his voice rather raw from having just awoken, and it sent a pleasing tingle down Amelia’s spine.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mm. Wouldn’t mind it,” Amelia whispered an inviting taunt, despite the pain in her muscles. There was something exhilarating about the prospect of fucking her husband all night and all day, she suspected her pregnancy hormones were to blame. Either that, or she was still living off the high of tying the knot with the man she loved.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A throaty chuckle escaped Loki, and down he leant, kissing Amelia’s lips with surprising gentleness. It only fuelled Amelia’s need, she found it so alluring how one night he could be all about visceral pleasure, and the next morning he would be peppering soft kisses over his lover’s body, proving that he was the best of both worlds.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“As much as I would love to have you again right now, over and over till your entire body is trembling and oversensitive-” from the smirk on his face, Amelia knew he was trying to rile her up on purpose, “-you are in pain, and we are covered in dried bodily fluids, so I think a warm bath is in order.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A playful pout reached Amelia’s lips, “How did you know I’m aching?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re my wife, and I know things.” Despite his declaration that they would be bathing instead of engaging in another bout of relentless sex, Loki’s fingers seemed awfully insistent on touching Amelia’s skin with unbearable yearning. He wasn’t subtle as he gazed at her breasts and her stomach while his fingers traced wherever they wanted in burning circles.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Though it appeared the touch was more innocent than Amelia first believed, because the desire in Loki’s eyes had been replaced with doting adoration.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“My wife.” Loki repeated, as if testing the words on his tongue.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yours.” Amelia affirmed, sighing softly from the touch. Her insides turned to jelly when Loki flashed her an answering smile that was so pure and genuine, it caught her off guard.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They bathed in wonderfully warm water, scented with floral oils, and washed the evidence of the previous night from their bodies together, and relaxed until the heat wheedled the sting from Amelia’s muscles, leaving room only for deep satisfaction. She lost count of the many sighs that escaped the two of them throughout the entire time they were in the tub.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When they were done, they stepped out of the water, and before Amelia could reach for the towel hanging nearby, Loki’s hand was placed over her head, and in the blink of an eye, all the wetness on her body dispersed and left her dry. It was an astoundingly strange sensation, and it took Amelia several moments to understand what had happened.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What did you do?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I dried you,” Loki stated, and proceeded to do the same for himself, “it is faster than towel drying.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That much was clear, but the demonstration of Loki’s magic being used in such a mundane way reminded Amelia of his promise to teach her how to control her borrowed magic and how to do mystical things that mortals could not usually do.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You still need to teach me magic, Loki. You promised,” Amelia pointed out, very easily swayed by the desperate desire to do fascinating things. She turned and reached for her robe, purple and silky, and slipped her arms into the sleeves before threading her fingers through her frizzed up hair in an effort to control it. Loki’s little magic trick hadn’t taken into account just how poofy her hair got when going from wet to dry so quickly. It probably looked really silly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki seemed to think it amusing, because his eyes lingered on her head with a small and subtle smile. “Learning magic requires patience and focus. Do you think you’re ready to exercise those traits?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ehh, I can try!” Amelia shrugged, a dopey grin on her face. While she wasn’t expecting Loki to agree to give her magic lessons right at that moment, a part of her secretly wished that he would. If she was only going to have her magic powers until the babies came, she wanted to make the most of it while she could still utilise that energy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki surprised her. “Alright. I can try and teach you something.” He slipped on his own green robe and took her hand, leading her back into their main room; he urged her towards the doors that led to the balcony and opened them up, but he did not head out. Instead, he retrieved two cushions from the recliner and placed them down a couple feet apart, just inside the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He must have seen the confused look on Amelia’s face because he offered an explanation, “You want the perfect balance between relaxed but not distracted. The fresh air will help pacify you, but you want to keep away from any noises or imagery that might draw your focus.” He sat down cross-legged on one of the cushions, and motioned the other with his hand, “Sit down, then.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia took her place with a slightly skeptical smile on her face, and looked at her husband, “So what are you gonna teach me first? To move things with my mind? Ooh, to become invisible!?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No.” Loki’s eyebrows rose, “First lesson. I’d like to see if you can control your magic. Call upon it at will, make it </span>
  <em>
    <span>obey </span>
  </em>
  <span>your wishes.” At the sight of Amelia’s lips pulling into a slight frown, Loki reiterated, “We do this first, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>then </span>
  </em>
  <span>I will teach you how to move objects with magical energy. Alright?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia’s face brightened again, “Okay. So what do I do?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki peered down at Amelia’s slumped posture with a critical eye, “Sit up straight, don’t slouch.” He reached out and uncoiled her with a few bossy hand movements before aligning his own back. “I’ll show you first what I want you to do, and then I want you to give it a go.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia nodded wordlessly, watching curiously as Loki held his hands apart, palms facing each other, and presumably called upon his magical energy. After a beat of nothingness, a very peculiar looking light seemed to emanate from between his hands, suspended in the air, and then all at once it grew brighter and larger. The sparks and flashes of green created the form of the magical ball, and Amelia stared at it, completely mesmerised.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It didn’t last long before the illumination diminished out of existence, and Loki gaze Amelia an expectant look, “Your turn.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia blinked, holding out her hands before her just as Loki had done, but then faltered, “But what do I </span>
  <em>
    <span>do?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki held her wrists to steady her hands, “Feel the magic energy thrumming inside you. Feel it flow through your veins, you know the feeling, you felt it before, on the ship, remember? You already know what it feels like. Let it gather at your fingertips and push it out, forming the sphere.” Amelia listened to his instructions, and furrowed her eyebrows as she stared down at her hands, trying to do as he had done.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t exactly simple, and the harder she tried, the less likely it felt she was going to succeed. After a long minute of nothing, Loki let out a sigh.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop,” he said, “you’re not going to get anywhere by holding your breath and straining your muscles.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not how it works, Amelia. I told you to </span>
  <em>
    <span>relax. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Try again.” Loki’s words were firm but gentle as he sat back and crossed his arms, observing her once more in her endeavour.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia let the frustration and lack of understanding show on her face, and when she held her hands apart for a second attempt, Loki began to speak softly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Close your eyes, if it makes it easier to concentrate,” he directed, and Amelia did so, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, “Focus on the feeling of the magic within you. Can you feel it, Amelia?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She could feel it. When she concentrated, she was able to catch the sensation of warmth and power seemingly vibrating below her skin, giving off a sense of vigour that made Amelia feel </span>
  <em>
    <span>stronger. </span>
  </em>
  <span>If she were to give a descriptor to the feeling, she would say it sort of felt like a hug from Loki - a constant and amorous embrace. It made sense, it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>his </span>
  </em>
  <span>magic planted inside her, after all.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Feel the warmth of the sun on your face, the cool breeze as the wind blows, but don’t let the noise distract you. Let the magic collect at your fingertips. If it tries to escape to other parts of your body, redirect it. Send it to your </span>
  <em>
    <span>hands.” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia wasn’t entirely sure how she was supposed to do that, but she remained quiet and focused, imagining as if she was holding the door open and letting the magic energy bustle on through, but standing in its way if it tried to clamour back out. She remembered to breathe, pushing more and more energy back with each long exhale.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re doing well. Keep going,” Loki encouraged, and Amelia’s lips pulled into a smile.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Whatever you’re thinking about, stop. Keep your mind on the task, Amelia.” There was no bite behind his scolding, and as much as Amelia wanted to giggle, she managed to push the smile from her face. In all truth, she had been thinking of the first time Loki had tried to teach her some self-defense alongside Natasha, how he had been harsh in his criticisms when she showed little progress.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A lot had changed since then. He understood Amelia’s drive for aspirations, and what it was that pushed her forward. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Positive</span>
  </em>
  <span> reinforcement.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>To Loki’s credit, he showed a lot of patience as Amelia tried and failed several times to achieve what was probably the easiest thing in the world for him. He’d hardly batted an eyelid when he’d made the glowing green ball appear between his hands, it was probably second nature to him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know you can do this, Amelia. I’ve seen the things you can do.” No doubt he was referring to the moment Amelia’s life had been in grave danger, when Ularis had her hands around Amelia’s neck, squeezing with a purpose, and Amelia had had no choice but to let the magic energy go all at once in an explosive wave.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It had been powered by desperation at the time. Harnessing control and trying to get the magic to do exactly what she wanted it to was a very different experience.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Almost, Amelia. You’re close, I can sense it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The underlying eagerness in his voice sent a wave of excitement through Amelia, and solidified her determination to do this simple, yet excruciatingly </span>
  <em>
    <span>complex </span>
  </em>
  <span>task instead of throwing in the towel. Loki was right, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>could </span>
  </em>
  <span>do this. She’d called upon the magic when she’d needed it most before, and it had listened to her then. It would damn well obey her now.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes! That’s it!” Loki exclaimed, and Amelia’s eyes flew open to view her progress.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The illumination of green energy fizzled between her palms, about the size of a small marble, probably looking rather pitiful to somebody who had trained well in the art of magic. Loki’s magic sphere had been about the size of a soccer ball, majestic and dazzling, so much more </span>
  <em>
    <span>incredible </span>
  </em>
  <span>than what was crackling and sputtering between the space of Amelia’s hands in that moment.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And yet, the look on Loki’s face was that of joy. He looked genuinely proud of her, and it made Amelia’s lip tremble to look upon his authentic grin. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Naturally, Amelia became distracted by her husband’s face, and the tiny ball of otherworldly power hissed out of existence very quickly, leaving her somewhat embarrassed, “Ah… well… maybe I can try again later…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki could sense the self-doubt in Amelia’s voice, the underlying tone that suggested she wasn’t too impressed with her own abilities - </span>
  <em>
    <span>because it was such a tiny display and she barely held it for more than a few seconds</span>
  </em>
  <span> - and he thwarted those thoughts at once. Leaning forward, he caught Amelia’s lips, his hand around the back of her head holding her closer, and grinned when they parted, “You did </span>
  <em>
    <span>fantastically </span>
  </em>
  <span>my dear. Marvellously, in fact. Your powers are young, and you are inexperienced when it comes to both the practical and theoretical side of magic, but that does not mean that you can’t grow more adept through practise.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia was immediately soothed and swayed by his words, and fell forward into his embrace, snuggling up against him as the summer breeze rolled through the room. Now that she thought about it, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>do good. How many humans were able to achieve what she had just achieved? Not many at all.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmm,” she hummed contentedly, “perhaps you’ll make a sorceress out of me yet.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki laughed, “Maybe. You’ll have to join me in meditation to hone your focus if you want to become as powerful as I.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh. Meditation is </span>
  <em>
    <span>boring </span>
  </em>
  <span>though. You just sit there doing nothing.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You think that when I meditate several times a week, I’m just sitting there doing nothing?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia tilted her head back and looked up at Loki, “Yep.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki rolled his eyes with a smile at his lips, “Shows how much you know. You should try it some time-” he glanced down at Amelia’s stomach and his hand moved over it, “meditation is good for relieving stress, and I heard that stress is bad for pregnant women, so it makes sense that you should give it a go.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia followed Loki’s gaze to her stomach and rested her hand over his. She was now three months along in total. Twelve weeks into her pregnancy, and her stomach was visibly beginning to swell - she was shocked at how quickly the days were slipping by. The excitement of her wedding the day before had completely distracted her from it, but just the thought of what was to come brought that pesky, prickling anxiety feeling back.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was a lot that needed to be done - a lot of preparation and research and learning - Amelia knew she would have to visit the closest library back in Manhattan and check out as many books as she could on the topic of pregnancy and parenting. But they had received a lot of support already from the rest of the Avengers, and the reassurance was incredibly helpful. They weren’t going to be alone in their journey into parenthood. They had </span>
  <em>
    <span>help, </span>
  </em>
  <span>which was always good to know.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“...Loki,” Amelia said his name absently after a few minutes of staring at her belly, “do you think they’re going to inherit your magic abilities?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmm,” Loki hummed idly, “I hope so.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The thought of having twins with an affinity for magic may have sounded like a sweet little notion at first, but the only thing running through Amelia’s head was the potential for a </span>
  <em>
    <span>whole </span>
  </em>
  <span>lot of mischief. She could picture herself then, rushing around in a panic in search for her twin children after they’d cast a spell and turned themselves invisible.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you better teach them to use magic </span>
  <em>
    <span>responsibly</span>
  </em>
  <span> if that’s the case.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki smiled, “No promises, my love.” And with that, he pressed a kiss to the back of her neck, knowing it would make her melt like putty in his hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Privilege of Touch</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Loki and Amelia go for a lovely little swim.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm so excited to be able to post the next chapter so quickly! Writing chapters of fics that aren't so intricately connected is so much easier! I hope you all enjoy this!!! ^_^</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was quite bizarre to watch Loki actually kick back and relax for once in his life. The God of Mischief was a very active character, Amelia knew how true this was - in Manhattan, he would often wake up very early and spar in the training room for a couple of hours before returning to their bedroom for a shower, usually finishing just as Amelia would wake from her slumber. Just in time for a morning peck on the lips.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And he only got more energetic from there. Throughout the day he would intermittently workout - pushups, pullups, crunches, all kinds of exercises that made Amelia tired simply from watching - and </span>
  <em>
    <span>occasionally</span>
  </em>
  <span> he would go for a late night run when the streets were not so busy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>All in all, Amelia rarely saw Loki stationary, unless something was wrong. He was quite obsessed with staying in shape and honing his powers to make sure they stayed sharp - which wasn’t at all a bad thing, but it sometimes made Amelia feel a little bit sluggish. In comparison to Loki, she was practically a couch potato. Sure, she liked to do a little jogging and always attend her self-defense lessons, but usually it did not equal to anymore than seventy-five minutes a day.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>All of this only made it even more weird to observe Loki as he lay across the bed on his stomach, dressed in his flimsy silk robe, nose buried in a very old-looking book. He even had his legs bent up in the air in the same way Amelia imagined a teenage girl would lie as she wrote tasty secrets in her diary.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia herself was sitting at the vanity, trying on the various gifts of jewellery she had received from the many nobles that had presented them with wedding gifts. They were all very pretty and shiny pieces, but none were as beautiful as the wedding ring on her finger or the topaz bracelet around her wrist. The gems and jewels she had received from people she had mostly never spoken a word to were clearly not out of any sort of sentiment, and thus she chose not to wear them in favour of adorning her gifts from Loki.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>But anyway, back to Loki.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Every so often, Loki would raise his hand above the book and sway his fingers in what was probably a very specific, distinct motion, but happened to look a little silly out of context. His finger movements mirrored what Amelia had sometimes seen him do whilst performing magic, so she could only assume he was practising the gesticulations of spells in the book his eyes were glued to.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a while, he rolled over onto his back and held the book up above his head, continuing to read.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It made Amelia laugh, and her laugh made Loki lower the book to his chest and eye her with suspicion.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia shook her head, “You looked a bit restless, that’s all.” He had been shuffling around every so often, not quite finding a good enough position to comfortably read in, and Amelia wondered if it was perhaps because he wasn’t used to slowing down and unwinding a little.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki gave a hum and then returned to his book, carefully flicking one of the tattered pages.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you reading?” Amelia’s curiosity was piqued.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s one of my mother’s old spellbooks,” Loki enlightened, a small smile on his face, “one of her maids rescued it and a few other books before the evacuation and Asgard’s subsequent destruction. She felt it would benefit in my possession and offered it as a celebratory wedding gift.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With this knowledge, Amelia drifted over to the bed and plopped down next to Loki, mindful of the swell of her stomach, and peered over his shoulder. The pages were full of unrecognizable characters and elegantly drawn runes of some sort - presumably his mother’s annotations - and Amelia realised that Loki was probably holding one of the few things that held a strong connection with Frigga. It was no wonder he seemed so enamoured with the book.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia trailed her fingers through his hair. “That’s so wonderful,” she was happy for him - the book would surely inspire good memories of his mother, “I’m glad her maid had the thought to save them.” The preservation of knowledge was clearly something Asgardians and humans both thought strongly about, but more so Amelia was thankful for the maid’s decision to return them to Loki. Back where they belonged.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I am unfamiliar with some of the spells in here. It will be fun to learn something new from her.” Loki closed the book gently and pressed his forehead against the cover, “But, for now, I think I would like to go for a swim.” He sat up suddenly, placing the book on the bedside table before turning to Amelia with a coy little smile.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“A swim? You have a swimming pool here in Asgard?” There was a drop of sarcasm in her tone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, we do, actually.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia hadn’t expected there to be a pool in the palace, she had believed Loki meant he wanted to swim in the nearby lake which wasn’t too far from the city. A bolt of excitement rushed through Amelia then, because she hadn’t actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>been </span>
  </em>
  <span>swimming with Loki before, and it was always fun to experience something new with the man she loved.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When they arrived at the site of the supposed swimming pool, Amelia took a moment to appreciate the beauty of it. It was an open garden surrounded by tall walls shrouded in growing vines and shrubbery, perfect for a little added privacy, and the pool itself wasn’t like the perfectly chlorinated type - it was more natural looking, the dark tiles beneath the water giving it a dark blue hue, and on the surface there were arrays of lily pads blooming little pink flowers. It was more like a pond but without the fish, and looked very much like something out of a fairy tale.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She found that she couldn’t help but compare Asgard to a fairy tale quite a lot since she had arrived, but there was clearly something about the aesthetic of the place that filled her with a sense of magical wonder.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Another thought occurred.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, Loki, I didn’t bring a bathing suit or anything.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki stared at her for a moment, “...why would you need a suit to bathe in?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Did Loki really not know what a bathing suit was? How long had he been on Earth now, without ever encountering a bathing suit?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it’s- a swimming costume. It’s a type of clothing made to be worn in water, you know, to protect the wearer’s modesty? Cause we can’t go swimming naked, can we?” Amelia laughed, and then snapped her lips shut when she caught Loki’s blank expression.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Can’t we?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was then she realised that Loki intended for them to go skinny-dipping in the pool, which wasn’t exactly gated off. Sure, it had tall walls, but if somebody wanted to walk in, there was nothing stopping them from simply strolling down the right corridors in the palace to bring them through to the garden.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But- we can’t. What if someone… sees us?” Amelia’s fingers pinched nervously at the skirt of her dress.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No one else will come swimming while we are using the pool. It is approaching lunch time, so it is unlikely anybody will come by anyway. Come on.” Loki had already begun to slip his clothes off, chucking them onto a nearby bench, showing very little shame with stripping off in the broad daylight where anybody could walk into the area and see him in all his glory.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia eyed his nude form as he strolled down the steps that led down into the pool, sighing as he sunk into the water and floated away on his back, giving Amelia an expectant look. She had to admit, it did sound good to take a dip, especially when she felt a little sweaty from the heat of the Summer sun - which also explained why Loki was so insistent on a swim. If the heat was bothering Amelia, it was definitely bothering Loki.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But… Amelia didn’t want any random Asgardians seeing her naked, and for that reason she kept her clothes firmly on.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on.” Loki repeated, giving her a come-hither motion with his fingers, “The water is lovely.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll just… dip my legs in. That’s all.” She only had to take her sandals off, and got to keep her modesty in tact, which was far preferable for her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Amelia, we’re married. And I’ve seen your body hundreds of times before. Why are you so shy all of a sudden?” Loki subtly floated closer towards her as she approached the edge of the pool.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not that. I just don’t want anybody </span>
  <em>
    <span>else </span>
  </em>
  <span>to see me.” Amelia shifted her weight from one foot to the other, peering into the water where Loki stood. She could see his pale body just a few inches below the surface before the water obscured her view - she </span>
  <em>
    <span>wanted </span>
  </em>
  <span>to join him. If only she had a damn bathing suit…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A sudden odd sensation of fabric rolling over her skin followed by a prominent breeze had Amelia’s gaze falling to her body - which was precipitously disrobed, leaving her completely exposed to the world. She screeched Loki’s name, covering herself when she realised Loki had cast a spell that had simply unclothed her and left her dress lying in a heap on the bench by his own garments.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>If anyone were to walk into the open garden now, they would get an eyeful of Amelia’s butt, and the fear of that happening had her quickly rushing down the steps into the pool for the only instant cover she could attain.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The water, however, was </span>
  <em>
    <span>quite </span>
  </em>
  <span>cold.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She should’ve known, of course they wouldn’t have pool heaters in Asgard.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki was laughing, because apparently her surprised squeal and subsequent huge pout were absolutely hilarious; Amelia had yet to find the funny side as she was too busy hugging herself to warm up while goosebumps sprouted over her skin.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Why,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia began, “do you know a spell like </span>
  <em>
    <span>that?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Convenience,” Loki answered in a self-satisfied sort of way, “it has come in handy in the past.” His words were accompanied by a provocative wink.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia harrumphed, stepping through the cold water to move closer to Loki in a bid to seek out his body warmth - it probably wouldn’t take long for her to get used to the temperature of the water, but he owed her a warm hug after the stunt he pulled. She continued to cover her chest, paranoid that anybody could be watching, or that someone might stroll in at any moment.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t have to hide,” Loki reminded her, “nobody will see you. Nobody except me.” His hands went to her sides and caressed her skin, moving up to take a gentle hold on her upper arms, prompting an uncontrollable shiver from Amelia. “Show me your body,” Loki whispered, tugging at her arms with encouraging intent.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia sighed, relenting after only a few seconds had passed, and lowered her arms from her chest. Loki’s inquisitive fingers immediately moved to graze against her, cupping her breasts and rolling over her nipples, which had hardened from the cold water. The sensation was pleasurable, as Loki’s hands on her body was always a pleasing type of contact - he was forever gentle when stroking, rubbing and fondling her body to gratify her - there was never a moment where he was too rough or too callous, despite his hardened hands. Loki knew just how to touch her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>Her face heated with arousal, and she briefly fantasised about the idea of having sex right there in the pool, before the notion was promptly wiped from her mind. Firstly,</span> <span>it probably wasn’t sanitary, and secondly, </span><em><span>she didn’t want someone to walk in on her having sex in a swimming pool. </span></em><span>Especially a pool that other people likely used… it certainly wouldn’t garner her a lot of respect amongst the Asgardians.</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>For that reason, she clenched her hands around Loki’s wrists to stop him from dipping his hands further down her submerged body, still trembling from the velvety contact. “We can’t fuck in the pool, Loki,” she practically squeaked, her face flushing further in embarrassment.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki exhaled sharply with mirth, “I didn’t exactly have that in mind. I just want to touch you.” He leaned forward and kissed Amelia’s lips softly, and she realised then that Loki’s ministrations had had a more sensual intent rather than sexual - just like the many times they had washed together in the shower, and Loki would spend most of the time simply running his hands over her body - but the touch had naturally sent her horny mind spiralling.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“O-oh,” Amelia murmured, clearing her throat, “right. Well, in that case, continue.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki kissed her again, this time in a far more mesmerising fashion, and drew a moan from her throat as one hand stroked down the curve of her ass, taking the time to grasp a handful of her plump flesh. Her arms snaked around his neck as she sunk into him, and the cold water was no longer bothering her while the heat of the sun hit her exposed skin.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The way your body reacts to my touch is sublime,” Loki murmured against her lips, “and I am a </span>
  <em>
    <span>tremendously </span>
  </em>
  <span>lucky man.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia smiled shyly, peering up at her husband, adoration reflecting in her gaze. He looked positively beguiling in the light of the sun, the water droplets on his skin shining, his soaked hair matted against his forehead, his honeyed words - all of it had an enticing effect on her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She gasped as he picked her up, putting her legs around his hips, and spun her around playfully. Their bodies were firmly pressed together, the water licking against Amelia’s lower back, and Amelia quickly captured Loki’s grinning lips, eager to kiss him over and over.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Excuse me, Prince Loki?” A deep voice fluttered in from the entryway and Amelia practically dived away from her husband, submerging herself in the water and only letting her eyes and nose surface when she was hidden behind Loki’s body.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki himself was glancing back over his shoulder, his body somewhat rigid at the interruption, and Amelia fought back the urge to grumble </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘I told you so’. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Loki hissed to the newcomer.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Pardon the intrusion, my prince, but I have come to pass on an invitation. The King asks that you and Lady Amelia-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Princess </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia,” Loki corrected steely.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Th-that you and Princess Amelia join him for the lunchtime banquet.” Whoever the man was, he sounded slightly overwrought, and Amelia hoped above all else that he hadn’t seen her naked form before she’d had time to shield herself in the water behind her husband.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell the King we will join him in twenty minutes.” Loki’s voice was dismissive, and Amelia heard the messenger deliver a quick </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘yes, my prince’</span>
  </em>
  <span> before the sound of footsteps suggested he was leaving the area.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Loki turned back around to face Amelia, she pinned him with a pouty glare, but he seemed unaffected by her grumpiness. His smile was unapologetic, and he seemed totally unconcerned that somebody else had seen her - </span>
  <em>
    <span>or had almost seen her </span>
  </em>
  <span>- nude and vulnerable.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So much for </span>
  <em>
    <span>no one will see you.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia groused, once again crossing her arms protectively over her chest in case any other palace servants decided to waltz on is for an eyeful.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s fingers tilted her chin up, “So what if he saw you? What does it matter?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia was surprised by his inquiry, she had thought the idea of anybody else laying their eyes upon </span>
  <em>
    <span>his </span>
  </em>
  <span>wife would piss him off, but he didn’t seem overly bothered, “Doesn’t it make </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>angry?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki huffed, a smirk on his face, and leaned down to press a kiss to Amelia’s head while cupping her face lovingly, “Anybody who thinks they are worthy of looking upon your body unclothed is delusional, but if they </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>happen to catch a glance, they ought to consider themselves blessed from the sight. They can look, but they can’t</span>
  <em>
    <span> touch. </span>
  </em>
  <span>That privilege is reserved for me, and me </span>
  <em>
    <span>alone.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He whispered the words into her ear, hot breath tickling against her neck, and Amelia quivered as his hands once again found her bare skin and staked his claim in the form of shameless gropes and titillating hickeys.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Please do leave me a comment! Even if it's just a quick one, I truly appreciate it and it makes me very happy and motivated!! The next chapter will contain a little drama so you have that to look forward to probably within the next seven days ;)</p>
<p>I'm excited to hear your feedback! And I'm still taking ideas so feel free to shower me in them! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. On The Subject of Elegance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Not everybody in the palace is excited to have Amelia become a part of the royal family.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>LOOK ANOTHER CHAPTER OH HO HO!</p><p>I've been receiving so many wonderful comments so far. It gives me LIFE! Thank you so much everyone &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>The palace gardens were a beautiful sight, full of colourful summer blooms and sprigs of all sorts, and Amelia was feeling quite relaxed sitting slouched on the bench, shoes kicked off so that she could bury her bare feet into the soft blades of grass. Nature seemed happy in New Asgard, and that in turn made Amelia happy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki was not currently with her, the prince had apologetically declared he had to visit the palace library to do some </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘research’, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and that Amelia was welcome to do as she pleased until he returned, at which point they would attend the evening dinner together. He had suggested she explore a little, and that he would have a guard or two escort her to ensure she felt secure, but Amelia had protested and declared that there was somebody else she’d rather spend time with. Thus, she was joined by Inga and Signy, the palace’s resident healer and seamstress, respectively, and two of Amelia’s friends.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was the first sign that Amelia had begun to feel more at ease in the palace without Loki by her side. She was pleased with the progress she had made in that regard, and she hoped she would only grow more content.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, what exactly did the prince have to do that was more important than spending time with his new bride?” Inga inquired from beside her; she was idly flicking through some sort of text, but most of her attention was on Amelia anyway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia snorted, “Said he had to look into something. I’m sure he had his reasons.” Her husband had appeared a little absent-minded before heading off, but Amelia figured she would just ask him about it when he returned - there was no rush, if it was really important, he would let her know.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmm,” Signy hummed, “maybe he’s planning some sort of lovely surprise for you!” Ever the optimistic one, Signy winked and wiggled a pointed finger matter-of-factly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pft,” was Inga’s response to that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia quirked an eyebrow, giving Inga a curious smile, “How have you and Thor been getting along? Been on a date yet?” The urge to tease was substantial, and it was worth it to see the usually composed Inga’s cheeks go pink.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We haven’t been on a </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘date’!</span>
  </em>
  <span> We’ve just… been talking,” she averted her gaze back down to her book and cleared her throat, “the King likes to tell stories, and I like to hear stories, so when he has a spare moment, we will meet and he will regale me with some of his battles and triumphs over the years.” By the time she had finished speaking, there was a dreamy haze in her eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, so that’s why you’ve been reading those romance novels,” her sister exclaimed perkily, eyeing the book in Inga’s grasp, “because you’ve been fantasising about the King. You never used to be interested in those kinds of fiction.” Signy really knew how to embarrass her older sibling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Excuse </span>
  <em>
    <span>you, </span>
  </em>
  <span>sister, I think that’s quite enough of that!” Inga snapped as she shoved the romance novel within the pockets of her pretty blue robes, “I am not some naive young woman, easily mesmerised by the notion of dalliance, especially with the likes of a King, so you can stop right there.” She harrumphed, crossing her arms as she acted as though her face wasn’t flushed from Signy’s playful winding up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia caught another wink from Signy, and let out a chuckle. Inga was clearly smitten and in denial; Amelia wondered who would give in and proclaim their attraction first between Inga and Thor - it had been obvious from the get go and only became plainer the more Amelia watched them interact.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before Amelia could steer the subject away from romance and ask the two girls what else they had been up to as of late, there was an interruption from one of the palace guards who approached with purpose.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Princess Amelia, one of the King’s confidantes wishes to speak with you in the advisory room beside the throne room,” he spoke, motioning a hand back the way he had come, “if you’ll follow me, I can take you there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia blinked rapidly, confused at the summoning, she sent a glance to the sisters beside her, who looked just as clueless as her, and frowned. She rose from her seat, toeing her shoes back on a little clumsily and asked, “Um, do you know why one of the advisors wants to speak with me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My apologies, princess, I have only been sent to retrieve you. I know nothing more.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh… okay.” Amelia figured if one of the King’s advisors needed to speak with her, it was probably something important that had been orchestrated by Thor - he was probably just too busy to talk to her himself. “See you later.” She waved at Signy and Inga before following after the guard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When she arrived at the advisory room, she was greeted with finely decorated space that resembled a sort of meeting room, a large table in the centre with a large rug that stretched the length below it, and a few smaller tables and armchairs at the sides. Sat in one of the large table’s seats was a middle-aged looking man with ear-length blonde hair, dressed in formal gold and reddish-brown robes, looking quite distinguished and important. Amelia was sure she had seen the man before, probably speaking with Thor at some point, but she had never shared any words with him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um, hello? Did you wanna talk with me or something?” Amelia hesitantly asked, her discomfort jumping when the guard that had escorted her there left the room, leaving her alone with the man she had yet to be introduced to. She began fidgeting with her fingers almost immediately, a tell-tale sign that she didn’t want to be there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man stood, breathing a sigh of what seemed like displeasure, and looked very close to rolling his eyes as he approached her. He was tall, but not quite as tall as Loki or Thor, though he did have a sort of imposing presence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lady Amelia,” he greeted, an unimpressed drawl in his voice, “I am King Thor’s deputy advisor, Lord Reinn, and I have called you here so that I may give you a few lessons of… refinement. You will be taught how to act like a royal, so that you can show the level of elegance your position demands.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia was shocked at the deputy advisor’s proclamation, as well as just a little bit confused; she hadn’t had any prior warning about receiving lessons for such a thing, and she was sure Loki or Thor would have mentioned it to her at some point, especially since she and Loki were still enjoying their honeymoon. Amelia hadn’t expected lessons of refinement to be in her schedule at any point during their time in Asgard, but perhaps she had been wrong to assume anything like this wouldn’t pop up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe Thor himself had asked his advisor to teach her a little grace - was he disappointed that she hadn’t been acting… </span>
  <em>
    <span>royal </span>
  </em>
  <span>enough?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, don’t just stand there gawping,” Reinn reprimanded, “we’ll begin with your awful posture!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia curled in on herself slightly, affronted by the man’s clear show of rudeness, but she kept a stiff upper lip and then straightened her back - because even Amelia could admit that she </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>been slumping. But, in her defense, her shoes didn’t help her much. They were Asgardian-made and she wasn’t at all used to the raised heel in the back, plus they were tight around the sides of her feet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then there was the fact that she had come to the end of her first trimester - her muscles were easily fatigued and her back often felt stiff. There were just too many things that were thrown into the mix that could be blamed for her deteriorated posture.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh. Okay, can I take off my shoes?” Amelia asked, wiggling her toes within their confines.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely </span>
  <em>
    <span>not.</span>
  </em>
  <span> You must acclimate yourself to being on your feet for hours at a time! You won’t always be allowed to kick off your shoes or sit in comfort!” The advisor practically shrieked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Really?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Amelia thought irritably. Was there really going to be such occasions where a chance to sit down was unavailable?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But I’m pregnant,” Amelia pointed out, feeling very much like she was being unfairly treated, “I should hope I’ll always have the option to sit down if I’m feeling tired.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tch. That’s the kind of lazy entitlement that palace-workers and common folk will regard with aversion. Contrary to what you might believe, being a part of the royal family doesn’t mean everybody will bow at your feet and bring you everything you desire. You do </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> have royal blood, it is only due to marital ties that you receive the privileges you do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia pursed her lips and clenched her hands tightly together as she began to fidget out of distress. She didn’t want to be here in this man’s presence, she wanted to be back with Inga and Signy, or Loki, back with somebody who actually cared about her, unlike this advisor who seemed to have it out for her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She reached up and scratched her head idly, tousling her hair in the process, and Reinn let out another trying sigh, wagging an accusatory finger in her direction.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You must stop fidgeting and scratching your head like that! Royals must appear composed and perfect at all times. If you stand around, slouching and mussing up your hair like that, the people will think you to be unhygienic and substandard!” He stepped towards Amelia, to her dismay, and pushed and prodded her into a more alert and put-together posture.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia practically froze up the moment Reinn put his hands on her, nudging her into a stance he was happy with - it made her feel sick and repelled. She didn’t want the man </span>
  <em>
    <span>anywhere </span>
  </em>
  <span>near her, but she couldn’t so much as open her mouth to protest. The fear that something bad would happen if she were to vocally object was just too obtrusive, and perhaps it was her paranoia after her experience with Eruk and his goons, but she didn’t feel safe in that moment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Show me how you walk across the room. A </span>
  <em>
    <span>princess </span>
  </em>
  <span>must move with grace - you must give off the idea that you are drifting more so than walking.” Reinn ordered with a brief motion of his hand towards the other end of the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia stiffly stepped away from Reinn, jumping at the opportunity to put some distance between herself and the older man, but she remained heedful in her slow movements, knowing she was just one mistake away from getting another earful from the clamorous advisor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, </span>
  <em>
    <span>no! </span>
  </em>
  <span>That’s all wrong.” His vociferous exclamation came as expected, but that didn’t mean Amelia wasn’t flinching from the volume of it. “You must keep your back </span>
  <em>
    <span>straight! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Do you humans ever </span>
  <em>
    <span>listen?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He scoffed as if disgusted with Amelia, “And lower your shoulders! You’re acting as though you’re being hunted like a mouse!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia might as well have felt like a mouse being hunted, and she outright refused to relax her posture, turning around to give the advisor a watery scowl, lips pulled down in a clear frown.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No princess should be seen with such an expression,” Reinn once again scolded, and Amelia couldn’t tell if the man was oblivious to his insensitivity, or if he knew very much that he was upsetting her, and continued to do so at her expense, “you have to appear neutral and in control of your emotions. Agh, enough about that, we have to work on your </span>
  <em>
    <span>voice!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia swallowed tightly. “My voice?” She inquired rigidly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was no way Thor had authorised these heartless lessons, Amelia was sure of it. Thor never showed any antipathy to Amelia for the way she walked and talked and did anything else she ever did. He didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>care </span>
  </em>
  <span>about that kind of thing - they were friends, and Thor wouldn’t treat his friends this way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If on the off chance Thor felt Amelia needed to take up a few </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘elegance’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>lessons, he would most certainly do it in a much more amiable way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, your voice. It’s simply awful. It’s grating for my ears, such a prominent, unpolished </span>
  <em>
    <span>twang. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It honestly makes me want to gag.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia stared at Reinn, fighting the urge to grab something off the long table - </span>
  <em>
    <span>that vase looked mighty heavy </span>
  </em>
  <span>- and throw it at his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t just change my accent,” Amelia argued, chewing the inside of her lip as a form of restraint.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course you can,” Reinn retorted, “a few voice-coaching lessons and then perhaps the palace-dwellers will be spared the jarring unpleasantries of your speaking voice.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This time, Amelia failed to hold back her tears, and they promptly rolled down her cheeks, betraying just how affected she was by the cruel advisor’s tasteless remarks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you can’t surely be </span>
  <em>
    <span>crying?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>the advisor snapped, seemingly displeased with the display, “Because of a few criticisms? You will need to learn to take evaluations like this in stride if you ever want to play the part of Asgard’s new princess, and the mother of Prince Loki’s children. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Princesses </span>
  </em>
  <span>do not cry, especially not because they cannot deal with fair admonishment.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And then, he moved suddenly towards her, still blaring on and mocking her dejection, and Amelia acted on impulse, quickly swiping up what appeared to be a dull butter knife from the table and holding it like a weapon - like Loki had briefly shown her with her dagger shortly after the Eruk fiasco. In fact, she found herself wishing she had taken it with her to Asgard instead of leaving it at home in Avengers tower.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before Reinn could begin to screech about Amelia brandishing a butter knife at him, the double doors flew open and Loki burst in, his face enraged as he clutched a book under his arm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What is the meaning of this?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki roared, but Amelia couldn’t have been more relieved to see him. She dropped the knife and scurried to Loki’s side, almost stumbling in her rush to be beside him once again. Loki inspected her face, his eyes wide with anger, but in his rage, he still retained enough tenderness to brush away a few of her tears with his thumb.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I won’t ask again, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Reinn,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki seethed as he held Amelia firmly to his side, “what is the meaning of this intervention?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Surely you saw her waving a knife at me, my prince!? It is abundantly clear that your </span>
  <em>
    <span>wife </span>
  </em>
  <span>requires a great deal of behavioural management! She will never be befitting of a royal title unless she makes some serious adjustments to her conduct!” Reinn’s words had Amelia shutting her eyes tightly and covering her face, her distress more than evident.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Enough!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki barked, “I will hear no more of your prejudiced words. Ever since the announcement of mine and Amelia’s engagement, you’ve seemed to go out of your way to find </span>
  <em>
    <span>fault </span>
  </em>
  <span>in her. I assure you that any negative things you have to say against my wife are unfounded!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia realised then that her presumption was true - Thor had not arranged for this horrible man to give her lessons. He had likely gone behind the King’s back to search for a reason to throw a wrench into her marriage with Loki; the revelation sprung more tears from her eyes, but hearing Loki defend her truly warmed her heart.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You have been blinded, my prince. She is a </span>
  <em>
    <span>human, </span>
  </em>
  <span>her flaws are boundless, and you should not have married her!” Reinn bellowed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hold your tongue!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki snarled, his voice echoing off the walls of the room, “Before I cut it out!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A silence fell across the room, one that made the small hairs on the back of Amelia’s neck stand on end from the sudden absence of shouting; her hand fell instinctively to her stomach. Amelia did not know at which point unborn babies developed their sense of hearing, but she sure hoped that if they were listening to this racket, they knew that their father was passionately defending their mother’s honour.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki’s next few words were hushed and deadly. “You don’t have to like my wife, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Reinn,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>he practically spat the advisor’s name, “but you will respect her. She outranks you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was nothing more satisfying than hearing the cruel son of a bitch being rebuked so icily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will ensure my brother hears about your impertinence.” Loki concluded, before beginning to usher Amelia out of the room with a secure hand on the small of her back. Amelia went without a fuss.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reinn began to object, “This is a mistake! Lady Amelia is-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Princess Amelia.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki stonily corrected the man.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that, Loki guided Amelia out of the room and down the hall. It was amazing how quickly Amelia began to feel better after dealing with the stress of being in that grievous man’s presence, and she rubbed the moisture from her cheeks, sniffling as she walked plastered to Loki’s side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, Amelia,” Loki murmured after several minutes, “I shouldn’t have left you alone…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, no,” Amelia shook her head, “this wasn’t your fault.” She was quick to point out that the problem lied only with Reinn, because she didn’t want to keep expecting things like this to happen every time she was apart from Loki. It was a one time thing, that was what she needed to believe. “I’m fine, anyway,” she sniffed, “I’m okay…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince Loki or herself, because her heart had jumped out of her chest when Reinn had made that sudden movement towards her, and she definitely had not been okay then.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I, ah, I think that guy must’ve woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” Amelia stammered as she tried to draw humour into the moment, in order to distract her from the unsettling feelings she had felt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He is a fool. And soon he will no longer be one of Thor’s advisors. It is about time the King kicked Reinn’s despicable ass out of the court.” His last remark sounded an awful lot like the kind of thing Amelia would say, and it made her smile. “Reinn used to be the chief advisor to Odin.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That told Amelia all she needed to know.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nowadays, instead of offering any useful input, he sulks in his jealousy and tries to convince Thor that his hostile agenda is the correct way to go. Thor is an oaf, but he’s not stupid enough to listen to him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia nodded her head, “What’s he jealous of?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When Thor became king, Reinn was demoted from chief advisor to deputy advisor,” Loki informed, “I think he’s still stewing over that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, right,” Amelia hummed, “but… who’s the chief advisor?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki looked down at her with a quirked eyebrow and a small smile on his face, “I am.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia squeezed Loki’s hand proudly and smiled, “I should’ve known.” They carried on towards the feasting hall where Thor was likely to be at this hour, so that Loki could have a very clear and concise chat with him - probably something along the lines of </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘your deputy advisor is a dick, fire him’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>- and Amelia’s gaze fell to the book that was tucked in Loki’s other arm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s that?” Amelia inquired, and Loki’s pace slowed a little as he followed her gaze.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki let out a slow sigh and cleared his throat, “It’s… another of my mother’s texts. This is one of her early journals that she wrote… a </span>
  <em>
    <span>long </span>
  </em>
  <span>time ago… shortly after I was brought into the family.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia’s eyes widened slightly as she eyed the book. Just like the spell tome that belonged to Frigga, it was frayed at the edges and musty looking, which didn’t surprise Amelia given that the book must have been over a thousand years old, if Loki was right about its originating date.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There are some passages where she talks about me, and the differences that came from raising a frost giant, as opposed to a normal </span>
  <em>
    <span>Asgardian</span>
  </em>
  <span> baby…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki appeared forlorn all of a sudden, and Amelia frowned, tilting her head and placing a consoling hand on his arm. He looked at her, a very serious expression on his face, and sighed, “Amelia, I need to talk to you… it’s about the children.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia swallowed, her nerves spiking up like a wave over her body. “Is something wrong?” She asked in a small voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki shook his head, “No, it’s- it’s not like that, it’s just…” he peered back over his shoulder, looking both ways down the hallway, “we should talk about it later, in the privacy of our room, after dinner. First, we will talk to Thor about Reinn.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He continued on, urging Amelia to walk close to him again. She kept a worried eye on her husband as they headed to the feasting hall. It was simply unfortunate that Amelia wasn’t feeling too hungry anymore, not while her stomach was filled with nervous butterflies.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oooh, what does Loki need to talk to Amelia about? Find out next chapter ;)</p><p>If you're enjoying this series so far, please drop me a kudos (only takes a click!) and leave me a comment. If you leave feedback, I will 100% fall in love with you.</p><p>If you have any ideas, throw them at me!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. No Matter The Colour</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Loki informs Amelia of one of his concerns.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Your comments are all lovely, I love you guys so much &lt;3</p><p>This is the last chapter that takes place in Asgard (for now!) and the next one will shuffle back over to the funny side of things ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>Reinn was dealt with. Thor took one look at Amelia’s slightly puffy eyes and that was it for the deputy advisor - he was promptly relieved from his duties and kicked out of the palace with the warning that if he dared to ever approach Amelia again, his punishment would not be so lenient next time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki couldn’t help but notice Amelia seemed to be not-so-ravenous as she ate at the evening meal, unlike the many other meals she had consumed in the past few weeks. It had become the norm for her to go for third helpings, as she was eating for three, after all, but that evening she had barely finished her plate before stating that she was done and did not intend to eat anything more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t exactly a mystery to Loki why this was so - Amelia had the tendency to be sparing with her food when she was anxious about something, and there was no doubt in his mind that her anxiety had been caused by what he had told her just after the skirmish with Reinn - the fact that he needed to talk to her about their unborn children, but did not specify why he needed to talk to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He knew he shouldn’t have mentioned it to her until </span>
  <em>
    <span>after </span>
  </em>
  <span>they had returned to their room that evening, but Amelia was perceptive when it came to identifying conflict in Loki’s mind, and she probably would have asked him about it anyway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After Loki finished up his meal, they headed back to their chambers, and the whole time Amelia kept looking over and peering at the journal still clutched in Loki’s hand, most likely trying to piece together what Loki’s fears could possibly involve.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, tell me what the problem is,” Amelia practically begged the moment Loki shut the door behind them upon entrance to their bedroom, “you said there’s nothing wrong, but you wouldn’t be acting all jittery unless </span>
  <em>
    <span>something </span>
  </em>
  <span>was wrong, and I need to know right now, so tell me.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki sighed and urged Amelia towards the sitting area where two lavish armchairs were placed adjacent to each other, “Sit down, darling.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia crossed her arms, frowning at her husband.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sit, and I will tell you,” Loki reiterated, planting himself in one of the comfy seats, throwing one leg casually over the other, his mother’s journal resting in his lap.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia followed, sitting carefully, her unwavering gaze not drifting away from Loki for even a second - her intense stare was enough to bring a small smile to his face, and her determination to inwardly pick him apart with her mind was admirable, but Loki knew he was far too complex a being for her to ever correctly guess exactly what was swimming through his mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“After receiving mother’s spell tome, I became curious as to what other books had been salvaged from Asgard before its destruction. The library is filled with texts that were rewritten by those with a particularly faultless memory, but the restricted vault is filled with all original books that were carried in the arms and bags of the evacuees,” Loki began, his fingers brushing idly over the leather binding, “and that is where I found this. It’s not supposed to leave the restricted vault, but as you know I can be rather sneaky, and I will return it before they realise its missing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia smiled a little at that and rolled her eyes playfully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As I told you, it’s my mother’s journal. One she wrote very early in my life as she was raising me as an infant - I’ve never seen this book until now - and it had me thinking about our children,” his eyes flickered over Amelia’s slightly rounded stomach, “and I thought that there was probably a small chance that… that they could possibly be-” he stopped himself and backtracked, “-I’m not entirely sure what the probability of it is, but there must at least be a likelihood that our children will be…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t want to say it, for fear that Amelia would be horrified by the potential outcome of her pregnancy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just spit it out, Loki!” Amelia snapped, far too impatient and stubborn for her own good.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“...Blue.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki pursed his lips, frowning as he carefully inspected Amelia’s expression, waiting for the inevitable shock and revulsion that he couldn’t help but expect.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Huh?” Amelia stammered, blinking confusedly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki repeated himself more clearly, “They might be… blue, Amelia.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia stared at him for a moment longer before comprehension passed over her face, and she lowered her eyes to her belly and laid a hand over it, “Oh… I see.” Her tone was equivocal, and Loki continued to look on for any sign of nausea or loathing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you worried that they’ll be more difficult to look after?” Amelia looked back up at Loki with a slightly furrowed brow, otherwise clueless to why he was truly in such a nervous state.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“N-no, Amelia… I’m worried you won’t want them…” Loki admitted in a surprisingly small voice, subconsciously picking at the book’s bound cover.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia’s eyes went wide as a gasp left her, which sounded like the breath had been forcibly knocked from her lungs, and a hand went over her chest in shock, “Loki, they’re our </span>
  <em>
    <span>children!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Her breathless exclamation was full of dismay.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki said nothing, startled by her outburst.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you really think I would disown our children if they took after you?” Amelia questioned, still sounding just a little bit appalled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that point, Loki noticed he had been idly scratching at his mother’s old journal and let out a quiet expletive under his breath, placing the book on the small table between them; he didn’t meet Amelia’s eye, breathing a despondent sigh. Amelia may have thought she could handle the idea of having children who took after their frost giant father, but if the day came and she actually gave birth to a couple of little blue, red-eyed gremlins, then that could be a whole different story altogether.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Loki,” Amelia called, demanding his attention, “answer me. Do you really think that little of me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Have you really thought about what it would be like for our children to look… like </span>
  <em>
    <span>that?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki inquired firmly, “Because you may feel differently in six months time when you have to give birth to them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Loki,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia’s tone was almost scolding, offended that he could say such a thing, “I can’t believe you’d say that. What parent hates their child because they’re different?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki met her eyes then meaningfully, his lips parted, “My parents did.” At those words, the anger in Amelia’s eyes dissipated into sorrow, “My biological parents left me to die because I was far too small and useless. And my adoptive father despised me for what I truly was.” Despite the emotion lacing his words, he remained rather stoic, because he had long since come to terms with the fact that it was something that could never change, not since Odin had passed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia’s face softened completely as she realised Loki’s fears weren’t baseless. She rose from her chair and padded towards him, placing herself down on his lap and curling up against him. He welcomed her with open arms and held her snugly against himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Loki.” Amelia spoke his name gently this time, “It’s true that until you mentioned it, I hadn’t considered the possibility that our children could be born with blue skin, </span>
  <em>
    <span>but, </span>
  </em>
  <span>I have already vowed that I will love our children with all my heart, no matter how much mischief they make, whether they’re magical or ordinary, and no matter the colour of their skin. Nothing will change that, do you understand?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her promise very quickly prompted Loki to feel ashamed that he’d ever implied Amelia could resent her own children. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Their</span>
  </em>
  <span> children. Loki leaned into the warmth of her palm against his cheek, and exhaled a slow breath. Their children were lucky that they would have Amelia as their mother.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I understand,” Loki whispered, “...I’m sorry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s alright. This is why we talk about these things,” she ran a comforting hand through Loki’s hair and gave him a smile, “instead of making assumptions.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki huffed in amusement, “Alright. I get it. No more assumptions.” Thanks to all the times he had accused Amelia of making wild and crazy assumptions, he was now paying for it by having every single light supposition pointed out by his wife.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good. Now, tell me the things your mother wrote about you. Were you a little high-maintenance rascal of a baby?” Amelia bit her lip to hide a grin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You could say that…” Loki rolled his eyes, picking the book up again to flick carefully through the pages, “One of the first things she wrote was that I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>exceedingly </span>
  </em>
  <span>bitey, and breast-feeding was out of the question.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia almost choked on air as she sucked in a breath before letting out a slew of giggles, “Oh </span>
  <em>
    <span>god, </span>
  </em>
  <span>I can imagine… how did they solve that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I presume they fashioned a special feeding implement not unlike the baby bottles you humans use. But that wasn’t the only issue. Apparently, I refused to drink breast milk unless it was mixed with a little bit of honey. According to this paragraph,” he pointed at the curly, cursive writing that Amelia couldn’t make heads or tails of, “they tried many different alternatives before discovering that all they needed to do was add a little sweetness to it. My mother states here that she almost lost her head trying to figure out a solution, and if it had taken them any longer, I may have suffered from dehydration and starvation.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia’s giggly disposition very quickly fell into something more grim, “Ohh… you poor thing.” Her lips drew into the biggest pout as she wrapped her arms around Loki’s neck and cuddled him more securely. “Well, I’m glad your mother figured it out,” she murmured against his shoulder, before sitting up a little and lightly tapping Loki’s hand which held the book, “we might need this again… it could give us some important advice when it comes to looking after the twins once they’re born.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Indeed,” Loki quietly agreed, “because if they’re anything like I was, we’ll need help.” He gave Amelia a smile, but was only half joking.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you enjoyed it lovelies! Remember to drop me a comment and leave me any ideas you may have that you want to see me write! :D</p><p>P.S: Happy Valentines Day everyone! :D Hugs and kisses to every single one of you &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Best Served Cold</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Amelia starts having some interesting cravings.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>NEXT CHAPTER YAY!!! </p>
<p>I didn't get as many comments as usual, I hope you're all still enjoying this series and I'm not doing anything wrong with this one &lt;3 A million thank-yous to the people who DID comment, I love you will all my heart xD </p>
<p>Hope you all enjoy this chapter of Amelia dealing with cravings and the lengths Loki has to go to for her ;D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fifteen weeks into Amelia’s pregnancy, the cravings began full force.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Everything had been going fine, it seemed. Amelia and Loki had returned to Manhattan and let their lives continue within the secure walls of Avengers Tower, Loki resumed a semi-regular schedule of working out in the training room and aiding the Avengers with small missions - particularly the ones that never really took more than a couple of hours, as he didn’t want to leave Amelia for too long at any point. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He never left her completely alone, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>only</span>
  </em>
  <span> left her side when he was sure there would be another Avenger present in the Tower, just in case trouble came knocking.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia, on the other hand, had yet to return to work, too frazzled at the thought of being by herself in the flower shop when </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything </span>
  </em>
  <span>had the potential to happen. It would take a while to recover from the trauma, but she endeavoured to take it one step at a time instead of forcing it to happen.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She continued her daily sessions of jogging and other easy exercises, and resumed her weekly self-defense lessons with Natasha’s help, making sure not to push any limits - despite only being in her fifteenth week of pregnancy, the visible swell of her stomach definitely restricted her movements.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t yet know how she was going to cope in her final couple of months, because it was going to be far from easy to do much of anything if she became as big as she expected.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Things slowly began to feel a little more ordinary, the fear of alien abduction no longer loomed in Amelia’s mind, her separation anxiety began to somewhat dwindle, and then out of nowhere, the desperate desire for particular foods settled in, and if Amelia - </span>
  <em>
    <span>for whatever reason</span>
  </em>
  <span> - was unable to obtain the food she wanted, it put her in a </span>
  <em>
    <span>mood.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Cold </span>
  </em>
  <span>foods. That was what Amelia wanted. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She gobbled down frozen berries like it was nobody's business, popping them in her mouth one after the other at such a rapid pace that Loki had to remind her several times to slow down, lest she were to choke. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia quickly moved from frozen berries to fresh, cold watermelon. The sound of her crunching and slurping up the juices was enough to drive Loki insane, but he did his best to hold in any complaints, because the first time he had brought it up, his wife had not taken happily to being told to quiet down.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Frozen yogurt was next, plus the intermittent glass of chilly orange juice, which she gulped down unwaveringly in front of the Avengers one day and prompted them to all cringe at the sight.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Doesn’t that hurt your teeth?” Steve questioned, lips curled in dismay.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia paused in her guzzling, “Nope.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Forget teeth, how are you not getting brainfreeze?” Tony asked, staring at Amelia like she was some sort of enigma.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia finished her beverage and offered no more than a shrug, before glancing back at the kitchen, “I need ice.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But you finished your drink,” Tony pointed out, though it fell on deaf ears. Amelia approached the ice dispenser built into the fridge and pressed the button, letting it fill her glass with relatively large cubes of ice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She picked one up between her fingers, examined it for a moment, and then popped it into her mouth, crunching down on it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“How?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Steve was bewildered, completely perplexed at the display of someone chewing on ice without so much as a wince.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki was not at all taken aback like the others appeared to be, as somebody who was immune to the effects of cold temperatures, he too found cold foods to be pleasing for his tongue. The thing that concerned Loki was the sheer volume of these foods that Amelia gobbled down. Where was it all </span>
  <em>
    <span>going? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia wasn’t exactly tiny, but Loki was quite sure she had eaten almost equal to twice her bodyweight that day already.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It hadn’t even turned noon yet.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Is this normal?” Loki leaned over and enquired to Banner in a hushed tone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Banner let out a sudden laugh, “Oh, Loki, welcome to the world of pregnancy cravings.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So, over the next few days, Loki did what he could to ensure Amelia had exactly what she wanted, even if it meant getting up in the middle of the night to retrieve a large glass full of ice cubes for Amelia to chew on loudly for ten minutes before she fell back asleep. Whenever this happened, Loki would simply observe his wife as she devoured the ice as if there was any nutrition in it at all. The only thing it did was keep her hydrated and cool, but she never really woke up in the night for water before, and it had reached the end of August, so the nights had a little more chill to them than the prior weeks. So </span>
  <em>
    <span>why </span>
  </em>
  <span>was her body craving it?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What exactly do you get out of eating ice?” Loki sleepily questioned at two o’clock in the morning one night after returning with that which Amelia yearned for.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia bit down on the ice cube that had been melting on her tongue and swallowed, “I don’t know. It just feels nice,” she paused, “maybe it’s because of the babies, you know? You love the cold, so they must have inherited it from you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t love the cold,” Loki rolled his eyes, “I’m just immune to it. I prefer warmth.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well then, I don’t know.” She shrugged and placed her empty glass on the nightstand beside her, before letting out a sigh.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ready to go back to sleep?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia nibbled at her lip for a moment as if contemplating something, and then hesitantly murmured, “I don’t know…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Loki blinked, “You want </span>
  <em>
    <span>more </span>
  </em>
  <span>ice?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia smiled sheepishly, “Nooooo… not ice… ice </span>
  <em>
    <span>cream.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s eyebrows rose up, “You want ice cream? In the middle of the night?” His disbelieving enquiry was met with Amelia’s semi-grave and semi-pouty expression. She gave a gentle nod of her head, batting her eyelashes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her manipulation tactics were put to an end when Loki snorted and delivered the bad news, “Well, I’m afraid you ate the last of the ice cream after lunch. There’s no more left.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia’s face fell, and it quickly seemed as though a dilemma was raging behind her eyes; as Loki settled back down into bed, he tapped her leg and motioned for her to lay down beside him so they could cuddle, but Amelia stubbornly did not move from her sitting position.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s sleep, love. We’ll get you some ice cream in the morning.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Again, Amelia did not move, and her incredibly dramatic, forlorn sigh had Loki pause in anticipation of the inevitable plea that she was about to give.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Babe…” Amelia only called him </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘babe’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>when she wanted to butter him up, “Could you get me some ice cream from the store, please?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No.” Loki shut the idea down very quickly. He wasn’t going to get up at 2am and leave the Tower - and the comfort of his nice, warm bed - just to pick up some ice cream. He rolled over and snuggled below the covers, waiting for Amelia to get over her ridiculous desire for ice cream and spoon up behind him. He figured if enough time passed, Amelia would realise that she wasn’t going to get her way, and she’d suck it up and go to sleep.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ten minutes later, Loki heard her begin to shuffle, and he secretly smiled in victory, waiting for the imminent warmth of Amelia nestling against his back.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But it never came.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Instead, he felt the bed dip and rise as Amelia stood up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” Loki tiredly grumbled, peering back over his shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m going to get ice cream.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki didn’t think Amelia was serious until she started changing out of her pyjamas and into her outdoor clothes, at which point he jumped up and grabbed his wife’s wrist, pinning her with a pointed stare, “You are </span>
  <em>
    <span>not.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Because it’s the early hours of the morning and you need rest,” he argued, eyes flicking down to her stomach.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm,” Amelia hummed momentarily, “My body needs ice cream more than it needs rest right now, I can tell ya that.” She seemed completely inflexible in her craving for ice cream.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki ground his teeth together, drew in a deep exhale and let it out in the form of a resigned sigh, “Can this really not wait until morning?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Again, Amelia’s face formed that profound pout, and she shook her head, looking up at him with innocent doe eyes. Loki peered out the window to gauge the weather - despite being so far up, he could tell the atmosphere was clear, it wasn’t raining at least.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Another sigh.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What flavour?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And so, Loki begrudgingly relented and left the warm cosiness of their bed to serve his wife’s whim while inwardly grousing over the fact that he was a prince - he shouldn’t have been getting up in the dark of night to retrieve food. If they were still in Asgard, he could easily have ordered a servant to take on the errand for him, but unfortunately for him, they </span>
  <em>
    <span>weren’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>in Asgard now. He was counting the days till they returned.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Although reluctant, he couldn’t very well let Amelia venture out around the streets of Manhattan at night, not while she remained plagued by the fears of being abducted by some sort of villain-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Hold up.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki stalled in the middle of the street, standing completely still as he registered the fact that Amelia had played him like a damn piano. She had never intended to step foot outside alone, she was still far too anxious to do such a thing - her little show of getting out of bed and getting changed was just a few further manipulative tactics to get Loki to do her bidding.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was more impressed than he was irritated, but more embarrassed above anything else. It wasn’t easy for one to fool and deceive Loki, but here he stood, out in the cool air, searching for a twenty-four hour store that sold Amelia’s preferred flavour - buttered pecan.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There were very few shops open. The first one he found, Loki was incredibly vexed to find they didn’t stock it. The second shop seemed promising from the ice cream advertisement plastered over one of the shop windows, but when he stepped inside, he was informed that their freezer had broken and that they weren’t selling any frozen products.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t until he reached the third store, where he was extremely close to tearing his hair out, that he actually managed to find the tub of ice cream he was after.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He exclaimed, clasping the tub tightly in his fingers. By the Gods, he might have just killed somebody if he hadn’t found it this time around. Glancing over, Loki saw the tired-looking store clerk staring at him from across the aisle.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You, uh, really like ice cream?” The man questioned from his slumped position at the check-out.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki cleared his throat, moving towards him so he could pay for the item and leave, “No. It’s for my wife. She’s pregnant,” he explained concisely, and the clerk snorted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Cravings, huh? Well, consider yourself lucky that ice cream is pretty normal - when </span>
  <em>
    <span>my </span>
  </em>
  <span>wife was pregnant, she craved pickles dipped in peanut butter,” he spoke conversationally as he scanned the product.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He must have seen the utter disgust on Loki’s face, because he perked up and laughed a little, “That was my reaction the first time she asked me to make a store run,” he took the money Loki handed him and began fishing out some change, “you gonna be a first time dad?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>While Loki wished the clerk would just hurry up and give him the change so he could go, he politely responded with a hum of affirmation.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Heh. It might seem like a huge inconvenience, having to go out in the middle of the night just for a tub of ice cream,” the clerk spoke, handing over Loki’s change, “but you know, you realise it’s pretty damn worth all the fuss when you get to hold your child for the first time.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A shot of adrenaline rushed through Loki’s body at the thought, a mixture of both electrical nerves and excitement, and he numbly took his change, mumbled a ‘thanks’, and left the store rather quickly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As he walked, Loki’s eyes kept falling to the cold tub of ice cream as he mulled over the store clerk’s words. It was scary and wonderful - in just over five months, he would be awarded the honour of holding his children for the first time, and he had to admit, such an experience would definitely be worth making a thousand trips to the store after midnight.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The next time Amelia craved food at an inconvenient time, he’d try not to complain so much about it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When he returned to Avengers Tower, he grabbed a spoon from the kitchen and carried the tub of ice cream up to their room. He’d been away for barely an hour, but when he walked through the bedroom door, he found Amelia sprawled across the bed, snoring loudly, having chosen to forego her desperate desire for ice cream in return for a little sleep… like she should have in the first place.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki sighed for the thousandth time that night and gazed down at the ice cream, briefly entertaining the thought of trying some of it for himself - after what he’d gone through to get it, he deserved a taste - but then came the image of a very enraged Amelia biting his head off for daring to devour her icy treat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He walked all the way back to the kitchen and deposited it in the freezer instead, ready for Amelia to snack upon in the morning, and then finally returned to where he wanted to be - spooning up against his wife’s back with a gentle hand rubbing over her stomach in circles.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you all enjoyed it &lt;3 Please leave me a comment if possible - it really helps me out! Even if it's a short one, it's still super duper appreciated!</p>
<p>Fun fact: When my mother was pregnant with me, she had a craving for chewing on ice too! Maybe I'm secretly a frost giant.</p>
<p>In a few chapters time I have an explicit chapter planned ;D Hope you're all excited for that~ Mwahaha!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Name Game</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The subject of baby names arises.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>YOU GUYS!!! You all absolutely showered me with so many wonderful and amazing comments last chapter and I practically squealed in happiness when I saw them all. I can't thank you enough &lt;3 You make writing this fic so much easier.</p>
<p>I hope you all enjoy this chapter! &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Baby names.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was about time Loki and Amelia were supposed to start thinking of what to call their upcoming children. After all, in a few short weeks, Amelia would be approaching the halfway point in her pregnancy, which left Loki more than a little alarmed, to say the least. Time was flowing quickly. The babies would be born before they knew it, and Loki wanted to be prepared.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The books he had purchased to elucidate what to expect throughout the remaining months of Amelia’s pregnancy now cluttered most surfaces in their bedroom, as Loki wasn’t content in buying just a couple of informative texts on the matter, and at one point he had read the line </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘at this point, you should probably start thinking about baby names if you haven’t already,’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>and promptly spaced out for the next few minutes as he pondered it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Amelia,” Loki finally spoke when he found his wife in the communal living quarters of the Tower sitting with a few of the other Avengers, “What are we going to name our children?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The question came with a hint of alarm, as Loki had mulled over it only briefly in his mind and had managed to come up with absolutely nothing, plus, they only had roughly five months left to figure it out. If Loki couldn’t come up with anything, then surely Amelia might have a few ideas swimming around in her head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia had blinked up at him, slightly surprised, and given the others in the room a transient glance, before announcing, “Um… I don’t know.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So, the thought of names hadn’t crossed her mind either.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh.” Loki murmured, somewhat thrown off by Amelia’s response - he had hoped she would have something to suggest, “Do you think we should perhaps… figure out some names?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia smiled, “If you wanna talk baby names, we can,” she shuffled in her seat and leaned over, grabbing a notepad and pen off the coffee table, then patted the vacant couch space beside her, “come sit, Loki, this might require some serious thinking.” She appeared oddly excited to explore the potential names of their children.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ooh, count me in! I’m great at coming up with names,” Stark announced, also looking rather giddy all of a sudden.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki pinned him with a glare as he found his place beside his wife, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“You </span>
  </em>
  <span>do not get to name our children.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Pft! I can </span>
  <em>
    <span>suggest </span>
  </em>
  <span>names!” Stark shot back, lifting his mug of coffee to his lips, “Since you’re both pretty clueless on what names to pick, you need all the help you can get. I’ve heard naming your children can be </span>
  <em>
    <span>quite </span>
  </em>
  <span>a difficult process.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s right,” Barton pointed out from across the room, halfway through devouring a sandwich, “I have three, and it is </span>
  <em>
    <span>damn </span>
  </em>
  <span>hard to agree on what to name them. You’ll probably hate each other by the end of this.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia licked her lips, ignoring Barton’s jest, drawing a vertical line down the page and labelling each column with </span>
  <em>
    <span>boy </span>
  </em>
  <span>and </span>
  <em>
    <span>girl </span>
  </em>
  <span>respectively, “Oh, I’m sure we can come up with something! We don’t know the genders of the babies yet so we’ll have to come up with two girl names and two boy names to cover all bases.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright…” Loki murmured, looking down at the bare page of the notebook and squinting to try and focus. Nothing came immediately to mind. “What… what kind of names should we try to think of?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia looked up at him in surprise, “Well, any name that you like, I guess!” She laughed, shrugging her shoulders, “If we both agree on it, I’ll write it down, and at the end we can choose our favourites, how does that sound?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki looked at her blankly and shrugged his shoulders in agreement. He sighed and hummed and tapped his fingers against his legs as he strove to think of something - </span>
  <em>
    <span>one name at least </span>
  </em>
  <span>- for Amelia to judge worthy or not, but something kept him from suggesting a single name.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t really know many Midgardian names, and less so the meanings of all the many names on Earth. He didn’t want to suggest something only for Amelia to laugh and dismiss it, doubled with the fact that the only names he could think of were names of humans he actually knew - and by the Gods, there was no way he was naming his children after any of the Avengers, that was for sure.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow, you guys really are bad at this,” Stark observed after Loki and Amelia were silent and pondering for a good five minutes, “Okay, boy names. Robert, Chris, Mark, Jeremy, Tom - any of those sound good?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki frowned, shaking his head, “No, they sound awful.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ooh, I actually like the name Chris!” Amelia pointed out, then pouted up at her husband, “You don’t like it?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s mouth fell open and then closed again. He didn’t really have anything against the names Stark suggested, he just wanted to drill in the fact that he didn’t want anyone else’s input in naming his children. The thought just rubbed him the wrong way. They were his and Amelia’s kids, it was up to them to pick out the perfect names.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I just…” Loki exhaled through his nose, “well, what about… </span>
  <em>
    <span>Aaron?”</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia tilted her head as a look of uncertainty flickered over her face, “Uhh… after my brother?” She made a face like she was not on board with the idea, “I don’t know. I’m not super into the idea of naming our kids after dead relatives…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s mouth snapped shut, his cheeks growing ever so slightly pink. He felt silly for suggesting it now.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, unless you were really wanting to name one of them after your mother?” Amelia backpedaled, a nervous falter in her voice, to which Loki shook his head enthusiastically.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, no. No, I agree… it would just feel strange.” Actually giving it a moment of thought led to the mental image of him chasing after a really rowdy little two year old while yelling </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Frigga! Come back right now! Behave, Frigga!’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>and it just </span>
  <em>
    <span>did not </span>
  </em>
  <span>seem like the right way to pay homage to his departed mother.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” Amelia smiled an awkward smile, “Clint, what do you think? Got any suggestions?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Barton made a noise of consideration, “What about John?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Too common,” Amelia rejected it before Loki could decline any suggestion from the man.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How about Ryan?” Bruce proposed, looking up from his tablet and speaking for the first time since Loki had entered the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Definitely not.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia practically snapped, and then flushed from the embarrassment of her outburst.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki raised a curious eyebrow, “Why?” He was indifferent to the name, but Amelia seemed to have a deep resentment for it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia cleared her throat, “I dated a Ryan in highschool for two weeks. He was a dick. That name is ruined for me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The revelation made Loki snort with amusement, but the problem still remained that they so far had zero ideas for what to name their children.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why don’t we try thinking of girl names instead?” Amelia advised, flipping the pen in her hand, “I like the name Rose.” She looked up at Loki for approval, to which Loki’s eyebrows raised.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Rose is an okay name,” Loki began, and Amelia excitedly scribbling the name down in her notepad, until he playfully continued, “we can name our children after flowers if you really so desire.” Amelia paused before she’d written the final letter and looked up at Loki with a rather adorable glare, lips pulled into a pout.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, so you don’t like the name Rose then?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I do, I was just-” Before he could admit he was only kidding around, Amelia had already scribbled the name out. “Really, Amelia?” She had clearly overreacted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well if you’re not going to take this seriously then we can talk about it later instead!” Amelia grumbled, throwing the notepad down on the coffee table and rising up from the couch to stomp out of the room, not even trying to disguise the fact that she was somewhat angry.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Where did </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>come from?” Loki questioned aloud once Amelia was out of earshot.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The pregnancy hormones were probably making her feel moody.” Bruce illuminated.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I told you,” Barton pointed out, “this is just the beginning. Discussing baby names is </span>
  <em>
    <span>disastrous.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Over the next couple of days, Loki found himself coming up with random baby names to try and appease his wife and add to their very tiny list, at least to show he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>serious about it, and wanted for them to think ahead so that when they day came, their children weren’t stuck in a nameless state for very long.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He’d read a few accounts from Midgardian women in some of the books he had found, which outlined how their children had gone for weeks or even months without a name because they just had too much trouble deciding on something. They’d ended up having to refer to their child as ‘the baby’ until they settled on something to call them. The entire scenario just seemed outrageous. There was no way he would allow either of his children to be nameless for so long.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki had taken to searching the internet for name recommendations.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What about Charles?” The name seemed dignified enough, it was just a matter of whether Amelia liked it or not.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why Charles?” Had been her response as she attempted to brush her locks into something presentable - with no luck, it was always a disarray in the mornings.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki had no answer for her. He merely shrugged his shoulders.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Then no.” She said, and Loki flopped over on their bed grumpily.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How about Arya?” He mumbled partway through brushing his teeth some time later.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I like that name, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>no. </span>
  </em>
  <span>People will judge us for naming our baby after a fictional character.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki spat toothpaste into the sink, “Guess that means Daenerys is out of the question too?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Loki.” There was an edge of warning to Amelia’s tone which had him grunting in annoyance. Barton really hadn’t been joking with his warning. “If I didn’t cave on Arya, I’m definitely not caving on Daenerys.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki finished cleaning his teeth and returned to the bedroom, collapsing rather dramatically onto the couch as he watched Amelia pick her outfit for the day. She had started needing to wear pants with a stretchy, not so suffocating waistband, and despite her occasional mumbles about how the trousers were unflattering or ugly, she still managed to look ravishing in them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He sighed, peering up at the ceiling with a despairing look. Something told him they would not settle on agreeable names for quite a while, but it was something he just wanted to be over with. The name Leif had briefly flitted through his mind, but that name brought only the memories of the horrible mind torture he had endured at Thanos’s hands. The name was out of the question.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You haven’t suggested many names,” Loki pointed out.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, well, I tried to and you made a joke out of it,” Amelia rejoined in a voice that was far from enthusiastic.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh, I was only joking. I think Rose is a nice name.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“A </span>
  <em>
    <span>nice </span>
  </em>
  <span>name? Not a </span>
  <em>
    <span>great </span>
  </em>
  <span>name?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki rolled his eyes, rubbing his hands over his face, “Okay, now you’re just nitpicking my choice of words. I like the name. Do you want to add it to the list?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia peered over at him, straightening out the top she had just put on, and then moved to grab the notepad and pen from the nightstand. She pressed the pen to the paper and then hesitated, her gaze unfocusing as she looked past it, and then sighed, throwing the pad back down with the pen without scribbling anything down.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No…” She murmured, sitting down on the edge of the bed facing Loki, “It feels weird, doesn’t it? Having to put a name to a face you haven’t even seen yet?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki sat up and leant forward, lips curling into a smile, “Yes. Exactly that.” In just a few words, Amelia summed up everything that was bothering him. It was beyond difficult to produce names out of thin air for his children, whom he had not yet met - names they would have to go by for the rest of their lives - and knowing that Amelia felt the same eased his frustrations just a little bit.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well… maybe we should just… wait till the day they’re born?” Amelia tentatively put forward, “Maybe once we see their faces, their names will just pop into our heads?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Perhaps there was no need to rush, there was no need to dwell on the possibility that they would not come up with names before the babies were born. Maybe Amelia was right, and he had nothing to be concerned about - he just needed the names to come naturally, instead of trying to force something to work.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright,” Loki agreed, “I don’t think fighting over names five months in advance is very productive anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia laughed, “You got that right,” she was quiet for a moment as her gaze rolled over Loki like soft silk, “there’s something else I wanted to say… I couldn’t help but notice you didn’t suggest any Asgardian names…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki straightened up, “I just thought perhaps you would want to pick human names?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia faintly shook her head, “I want you to know that when our children are born and we see their faces for the first time, if an Asgardian name happens to come to your mind, I want to hear it, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki couldn’t help but think that Amelia was particularly skilled in knowing exactly what to say in order to bring a smile to his face; with each day, he became more and more thankful that she was a part of his life.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He stood, picking Amelia up despite her squeal and dropping her gently on the centre of the bed, before crawling over and resting his cheek against the swell of her stomach. He caressed her belly with his fingertips, “Only five months left.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmm,” Amelia hummed, grinning at her husband’s light touches, “are you excited?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you nervous?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Also yes.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia giggled. “So am I,” she admitted, “I keep finding myself worrying about little things that I probably shouldn’t even be worrying about yet. Like how am I going to change a diaper without gagging? Or what if I’m not good at figuring out what they need when they cry? Or worst of all, what if I drop them? You know how clumsy I can be!” Her eyebrows furrowed as she pondered the horrific possibility, but Loki simply shook his head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not going to drop them. I’m sure these are all skills we’ll pick up as we go,” Loki smirked, “It’s normal for first-time parents to worry about those kinds of things. I read it in a book. If we make mistakes, we can learn from them. We’re not expected to know everything from the very beginning.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia relaxed a little at his reassurance, her hand moving down to stroke his hair.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why don’t you ask your friend Dawn about it? She has a baby.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmm.” Amelia hummed in acknowledgement, before her eyes suddenly went wide and she pushed herself onto her elbows, “Oh god.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki blinked, vaguely alarmed, “What?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck. I haven’t spoken to Dawn yet about… </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything… </span>
  </em>
  <span>the wedding, the pregnancy. Shit… I need to tell her. Shit. How am I gonna tell her?” Amelia’s gaze seemed to turn into a thousand-yard stare, “How do I tell her about you without causing her to freak the fuck out?”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>At this point, I've settled on one of the baby names, but I'm stuck between two names for the other baby ;) I don't wanna give anything away though, I doubt it'll be revealed until the chapter of their birth! Of which I am so excited to write :')</p>
<p>As always, I am open to ideas. Please leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts on this chapter! </p>
<p>Next chapter, Amelia will be paying her good friend Dawn another visit ;)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. The Fact of the Matter</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Amelia pays Dawn a visit to tell her the truth.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you all enjoy this chapter :)</p>
<p>I gotta say I absolutely love you all from the bottom of my heart &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia peered back at the car she and Loki had been driven in, one of Stark’s personal drivers sitting in the driver’s seat while Loki remained in the back for the time being. They had agreed that it would be easier for Amelia to explain the situation to Dawn first instead of just bringing Loki to her doorstep, pointing at him and saying ‘ta-da!’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Despite the dark-tinted windows, Amelia was sure Loki was staring right at her. She could feel his eyes on her. Ever since returning from her unfortunate intergalactic kidnapping, all her senses had been heightened - Loki surmised it was probably something to do with his magic within her, constantly offering more and more perks.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She flashed a nervous smile towards the car before looking back to the door and finally raising her fist to knock. No more than three beats passed before the door flung open and a very enthusiastic Dawn answered the door with her arms spread wide; before Amelia could even react, the woman had flung her arms around her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Amelia!” Dawn’s happy squeal was precious, and Amelia began to laugh, awkwardly sidling her hips back to put a little space between her best friend and her small but pronounced baby bump that was currently concealed below a loose, pink sweater.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Dawn!” Amelia exclaimed with a bright grin. It was wonderful to see her friend again, but Amelia lamented that it couldn’t just be a regular trip to see her and hang out - last time they’d met in person had been the first in a long while and there had been sorrow looming over Amelia because of it. This time, she was there to reveal some information that would no doubt be shocking to Dawn.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dawn most definitely knew Loki from the seven or so years prior in which he had, under the influence of Thanos’s power, caused quite a bit of destruction to Manhattan. But Dawn knew nothing of Thanos, and Amelia feared her friend would be full of snap judgements and unwilling to hear out the whole story.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She was rushed into the house and placed in the living room while Dawn skipped through to the kitchen to fetch some refreshments for them both so they could sit and chat more comfortably.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You want tea?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmm, got anything cold? Orange juice?” Amelia’s desire for all things cold still had yet to die down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, sure,” Dawn snorted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Where’s Rob and the baby?” Amelia curiously inquired.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Upstairs,” Dawn replied as she brought the cups in and handed one to Amelia before making herself cosy on the couch, “Noah needed changing. They’ll be down in a sec.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They spoke about Noah, and Amelia learned that he was thirteen months old; she was excited to see how he had grown since the first time they had met when he was only twelve weeks old. The reminder of babies had her pulling her sweater out a bit more to disguise her belly, she didn’t want the cat out of the bag before she’d had time to build it up gently, and truly, Amelia was practically vibrating from nerves in her seat at the prospect of telling Dawn everything she was intending to tell her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The sound of steps descending the stairs drew Amelia’s attention and she lit up when Rob entered the room with his wriggly baby boy in his arms.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey!” Rob greeted with his wide grin, before repositioning Noah in his arms and pointing at Amelia, “Look who’s here! Look who came to see you bubba! It’s Amelia! Can you say </span>
  <em>
    <span>Amelia?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Noah stared at Amelia with clear lack of recognition, green eyes wide and blinking every so often, not that she expected him to remember her face, not in the slightest. Amelia smiled at the baby, face welling up with joy at the sight of how cute he was. He’d grown quite a bit, too, and seemed very enthusiastic about flailing his limbs.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His dark brown hair was cute and curly, little ringlets framing his face in the most exceptionally adorable way, and Amelia felt herself go all starry-eyed at the sight despite the fact the child was staring at her like she was there to take him away and eventually gobble him up for dinner.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s shy,” Dawn giggled, “but I’m sure he’ll warm to you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mama.” Noah said the word, lifting one arm in his mother’s direction, and Amelia just about melted completely, but managed to keep her composure by biting her lip to avoid the adoring whine that threatened to escape.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rob handed the baby to his wife and made himself comfy in the seat beside her, leaning back and giving Amelia a warm look, “If you </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>wanna get in his good books, all you have to do is bring him a little chocolate candy bar and he’ll love you till the day you die.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia laughed, “Duly noted, I will definitely keep that in mind.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As much as Amelia wanted to just sit and talk about happy things that didn’t hold so much weight, she knew she couldn’t put off her main reason for arranging a visit, not while Loki was waiting patiently in the car just outside - she knew her husband could only play the waiting game for so long.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Um… there’s something I need to talk to you about, Dawn. It’s uh… it’s a pretty weird thing that I need to tell you but I want you to be in my life and I want to be in your’s, so it’s… it’s unavoidable,” Amelia smiled nervously, her heart thumping the more she spoke.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dawn’s face fell at the odd shift in Amelia’s tone, “Yeah, you mentioned something about needing to talk when you called. It’s not- I hope nothing bad has happened?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, nothing bad. But it could be shocking at first and I’m pretty sure you won’t believe me,” the smile didn’t leave Amelia’s face, because despite her worries over Dawn’s imminent reaction, she knew she wouldn’t be able to find her childhood friend’s shocked face anything but hilarious when she eventually laid eyes upon Loki.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” Dawn blinked, “It’d have to be pretty crazy to have that effect cause we’re not easily shocked,” she bragged with a snort, far from anticipating what Amelia was going to reveal.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, well first thing’s first,” Amelia held out her hand, drawing attention to the gold-emerald flower ring on her finger, the engagement - and subsequent wedding ring Loki had gifted her glimmering beautifully in the light.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh! Oh my goodness! You got engaged!?” Dawn gasped.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Congratulations!” Rob exclaimed with a grin.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, actually I got married, hehe.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dawn’s face pulled into one of vague surprise, “You got married? And </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>invite us to the wedding?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia grit her teeth and forced her continual smile, “Ah, that’s the thing I need to talk to you about. It’s about who I married.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dawn fell silent in confusion, eyebrows furrowing as she pinned Amelia with a look, attempting to predict what she was going to say next.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What I’m about to tell you is gonna come as a shock. I just need to ask that you hear me out before you judge me, or him. And also… it might sound like a prank, but I’m totally telling you the truth-” Amelia was cut off part way through her buildup to the truth.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh god,” Dawn suddenly bemoaned, “you didn’t marry Rory from high school, did you? I swear he asked you out like fifty times in our final year. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>hated </span>
  </em>
  <span>that guy, couldn’t take no for an answer! </span>
  <em>
    <span>Please </span>
  </em>
  <span>tell me you didn’t marry him!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia blinked, mouth hanging open, “No, Dawn. I didn’t marry Rory.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh good.” She appeared relieved, but expectant for Amelia to continue, as did Rob, so Amelia drew in a breath and let it out slowly before shutting her eyes and letting everything spill out of her mouth at once.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“At the end of 2017, I met a guy… over several months, we spent time together and realised we had a lot in common and, uh, we fell in love with each other,” Amelia left out the part where Loki introduced himself under a false identity, plus the inevitable fallout that occurred, “this guy… just so happens to be Loki. The same Loki who is now a part of the Avengers. Also, I live in Avengers Tower. We got married in New Asgard last month, and life is pretty darn good.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a beat, she opened her eyes to the blank faces of Dawn, Rob and Noah - although Amelia was pretty sure Noah’s vacant look was owed more to the fact that he didn’t understand what was being said or why his parents looked so dumbfounded - and felt her chest tighten when she tried to breathe normally.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dawn looked at her husband and then back to Amelia, her mouth wobbling a bit as she faltered on what to say, and then promptly stood up, carrying little Noah towards the padded playpen in the corner of the room. She placed him securely inside with his plush toys and building blocks, to which Noah began crawling around in search for the perfect object to play with, and then returned to her seat, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees, palms pressed together and fingers interlocked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Amelia,” Dawn began, voiced lowered, “are you out of your goddamn mind?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia gave a heaving sigh, “I did say you wouldn’t believe me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s the understatement of the year,” Dawn looked upset, “but I’m more bothered with the fact that you’d say such a thing in the first place. It’s a pretty sick joke. Loki? The guy who killed your brother? It’s not a prank if there’s no chance we’d ever fall for it, Amelia.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia’s face twisted in dejection, “Dawn, I’m not-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re right though, I am shocked. Shocked that you’d serve us this bullshit.” Dawn’s terse tone brought back terrible memories of the day she stopped putting up with Amelia’s shit after the Chitauri invasion and decided to cut her out of her life, and it sprung tears to Amelia’s eyes in an instant.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rob looked uncomfortable with no idea of what to say, so he cleverly remained silent.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, Dawn, wait, please- I’m not- I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>playing a prank, I’m not lying to you, and I have proof, but just- </span>
  <em>
    <span>please </span>
  </em>
  <span>let me explain everything first. The last thing I want is to push you away again,” Amelia admitted in a rush and tumble of words, not really knowing if she was even comprehensible.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Blessedly, Dawn sat back in her seat, one leg thrown over the other, her arms crossed, “Alright then. Explain everything.” The way she spoke indicated that she did not believe Amelia would be able to back up or explain her claim in any way, but with a touch of appeal that Amelia interpreted as the hope that everything would all make sense if Dawn gave her the opportunity to continue.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia sniffed, blinking her eyes free of tears. She needed to be clear and concise, “I need you to know that I’m not lying to you, Dawn. I wouldn’t do that. I’ve been trying to think of how I would tell you all this the last few days, but I figured there’s no way to sugar-coat any of it, and that I should just let the words flow. I love you, Dawn, you are my friend, and I just want you to know the </span>
  <em>
    <span>truth </span>
  </em>
  <span>so that we can actively be in each other’s lives.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dawn’s expression softened a bit, but it was still marred with disbelief.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Firstly, perhaps the most important thing, is that Loki isn’t the same person he was seven years ago. He’s been through so much pain in his life, and back in 2012, the day of the invasion of New York, Loki was very much under somebody else’s influence. A terrible tyrant by the name of Thanos. You don’t know who he is, because last year the Avengers put a stop to his barbaric plans, and Loki fought right alongside them. He’s a good person, and I understand that it’ll take you time to realise this. It took me time as well, and trust me, I have seen the amount of remorse he has shown for causing the death of my brother. This might sound crazy to you, but I have forgiven him.” It was a lot to unload, and Amelia gave both Dawn and Rob time to process it all whilst simultaneously praying that they wouldn’t just decide to throw her out then and there.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rob merely looked between the two of them, his expression troubled while Dawn rubbed at the bridge of her nose as if she was getting a headache. It was amazing how quickly the atmosphere had gone from happy to heavily discomfiting.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You said you had proof,” Dawn bluntly pointed out, “go ahead and show me this proof.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was abundantly obvious that she did not believe her still, and Amelia hadn’t expected her to accept it so quickly, so she quickly shoved her hand into her pocket and retrieved her phone - the phone in which she had kept a certain photo from Christmas day of 2017, a selfie of her and Loki sitting on a bench in Central Park.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia pulled up the picture and handed her phone out for Dawn to take, who tentatively picked it up and inspected the small screen closely, her pinched expression slowly stretching out into incredulity.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dawn passed the phone to her husband, “Rob, is that him?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Robert examined the picture, his eyes zipping from Amelia, to Dawn, and back to the photo several times before he came to his conclusion, “It’s him, but… this could be photoshopped or something-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Amelia’s shit with computers,” Dawn wasted no time in pointing out something she had known since they were children, “There’s no way she photoshopped that.” Dawn seemed to bristle, but whether or not she was convinced was unclear.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dawn tossed the phone back to Amelia before pinching the bridge of her nose again, “Amelia, let’s say for a moment this is real. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why… how? </span>
  </em>
  <span>I don’t understand…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia nodded her head gently. She understood Dawn’s confusion, it was quite a long and miraculous story for those who had not been on the journey with her and Loki from the moment they met, and she knew if she recounted everything that had happened, they’d be sitting there for days. Loki was still waiting, ever so patiently outside in the car.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Loki saved my life,” Amelia stated simply, “...well, he’s saved my life many times. But he saved my life the day we met…” she held her breath, composing herself before dropping a pretty serious tidbit of information that she knew would probably make Dawn feel sick, “I… I was suicidal.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She could pinpoint the moment it sunk in for Dawn because her face grew a little ashen.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I had left my apartment to visit Aaron’s grave one last time, because I planned to kill myself. I was lonely and miserable and I felt like there was nothing left for me,” she teared up at the memory, but pushed the woes aside. That wasn’t her life anymore, there was no sense in crying over the past when it served no purpose other than to remind her of unhappy memories, “while I was knelt by Aaron’s grave, Loki just… came out of nowhere. He walked right into my life. I didn’t recognise him at first, admittedly, but I’m glad for that now, because it gave us the time we needed to connect.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She chewed her lip, looking down into her half drunken cup of orange juice, and then gave Dawn a bleary smile, “So yeah… it’s the truth. I wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for Loki, and since we met, he’s been doing everything to redeem himself. He already has, in my eyes.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dawn’s jaw was hanging open rather dumbly, and Rob looked utterly astonished. He turned to his wife, “Hey, honey… I think she’s telling the truth,” he quietly professed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The now discomposed Dawn blinked back tears, “Amelia, this… this all sounds insane, you know that right?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia nodded her head with a pout.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But… I think it’d be more insane to assume you would fabricate such a story and go to the lengths of photoshopping - or paying someone else to photoshop that picture - if it wasn’t actually true,” Dawn finished.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia’s eyes widened, “So… you believe me?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dawn sighed, “I… I think so…?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia swallowed, “G-good! So, um, do you wanna meet him?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s waiting outside in the car,” Amelia pointed out the front window, blinking innocently.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia smiled nervously, “Well obviously I brought him to meet you! He’s my husband, remember? I told you we got married, I wasn’t making it up.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I feel light-headed,” Dawn announced.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I want to meet him!” Rob suddenly exclaimed, sounding more than a little excited at the prospect. Dawn made a noise of bewilderment, eyeing her husband up with an incredulous stare, to which Rob pointed out, “Honey, he’s an </span>
  <em>
    <span>Avenger. </span>
  </em>
  <span>If he’s actually out there, do you realise how jealous the guys at the office would be? To learn that I met an </span>
  <em>
    <span>Avenger?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dawn face-palmed, “Oh here we go,” she grumbled, her gaze flicking back to Amelia, “He’s an </span>
  <em>
    <span>avid </span>
  </em>
  <span>fan of the Avengers. To the point of obsession. He’s got most of the action figures and he’s Captain America’s biggest fanboy.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If I meet Loki, that’s one step closer to meeting </span>
  <em>
    <span>the </span>
  </em>
  <span>Steve Rogers!” Rob argued his case, and then looked back to Amelia with a sheepish smile, “You have me excited. If this turns out to be a massive prank, I might actually cry.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A nervous giggle escaped Amelia’s throat, “It’s okay, you aren’t gonna be crying tonight,” she stood up, gnawing at her bottom lip, “just… don’t freak out when you see him, okay?” Amelia knew what her friend was like, “Just remember he’s a good guy. I love him and he loves me, don’t insult him or anything.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Insult </span>
  <em>
    <span>Loki?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Dawn snapped, “I don’t have a damn death wish!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He wouldn’t kill you for insulting him, I just don’t want you to hurt his feelings,” Amelia clarified before heading towards the door.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wha-” Dawn cut herself off, once again in a state of perplexity as she processed Amelia’s words.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia opened the front door and waved towards the car - the sign that was agreed upon, revealing she was ready for Loki to join her. He seemed in a rush to escape the confines of the car, probably almost having reached his boiling point in regards to thinning patience.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“About time,” Loki remarked as he walked up the drive, and then peered at Amelia’s face for a quiet moment, “is everything alright?” His voice was soft, and Amelia gave him a small smile, nodding her head tentatively.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m okay,” she affirmed, and took Loki’s hand, leading him back into the house to present him to two very dazed grown-ups and one nonchalant baby. She forced a smile as Dawn and Rob stared at her husband, and it slowly registered with them that Amelia had been telling the truth the whole time.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dawn’s mouth fell open, she only held Loki’s gaze for a total of five seconds before looking away - which Amelia could understand in an instant, Loki was definitely an intimidating individual to those who didn’t know him personally.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rob, on the other hand, looked as excited as a child on Christmas day; he thrust his hand out in Loki’s direction, “Hello! I’m Rob! So cool to meet you man!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki regarded Rob with a taken aback look and shook his hand, “Loki Odinson,” he succinctly introduced himself.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia beamed, looking hopefully back to Dawn who seemed less inclined to shake Loki’s hand or introduce herself. That was fine. Baby steps.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Speaking of baby steps…</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Dada.” Noah’s little voice pierced through the thick atmosphere, and all eyes turned to the baby. Dawn took her son’s desire for attention as an excuse to take a step back from everybody else and rush to pick up her child, despite the fact that Noah had asked for his dada, not his mama. Obvious diversion.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dawn was flustered, Amelia knew it, and she probably should have thought her next idea through, but the logic in her mind decided that if Dawn was just going to be continuously discomposed the whole afternoon, she might as well hear </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>the news at once and slowly make her way through it altogether.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Dawn, you might wanna sit down cause there’s something else I gotta tell you,” Amelia began, watching as her friend gave her a weary look and slowly returned to sit on the couch, all the while trying not to stare at Loki for too long at a time.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rob was still enamoured with Loki, staring up at him in awe, and Amelia was sure that once she and Loki left later that day, Dawn would definitely give Rob an earful for being so childishly excited while she was left to deal with her stupor all alone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So, here’s the thing,” Amelia began, smiling back at Loki before telling Dawn, “I’m pregnant! With </span>
  <em>
    <span>twins!” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was met with silence and a whole lot of rapid blinking on Dawn’s part. Her gaze burned into Amelia’s stomach, still hidden beneath the jumper, and Amelia helpfully rolled it up to show the noticeable swell, at which point Dawn’s entire brain seemed to just clock out.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Honey?” Rob inquired hesitantly, taking Noah from her arms as she just sort of stared into thin air, trying to absorb everything that had happened since Amelia arrived.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think I… need to lie down…” Dawn mumbled, quickly and disorientedly rearranging herself to be lying across the couch.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh dear,” Loki remarked, “I don’t think she was ready for that, Amelia.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia frowned, scratching the back of her neck, “You still with us, Dawn?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Girl, </span>
  <em>
    <span>WHAT?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Dawn suddenly shrieked, so loud that it made Amelia jump. At this point, Rob seemed to know to step back from his wife, rocking Noah in his arms to stop him from joining his mother in her outburst.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You can’t be </span>
  <em>
    <span>doing this to me, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia!” Dawn dragged her hands down her face as she stared wide-eyed up at the ceiling, “You can’t just show up here and say </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh I married an alien and now I’m having two babies, surprise! </span>
  </em>
  <span>You really can’t!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia gave her friend a very sheepish look, “W-well… how else was I supposed to tell you?” Her words were followed by a nervous chuckle, and Dawn merely groaned in response.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” Rob suddenly spoke, his eyes on Loki, “Can you get me Captain America’s autograph?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki regarded him plainly, “No.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia quickly elbowed Loki’s side, flashing him a hard pout, before smiling over at Robert, “We’ll see what we can do, Rob.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rob gave a big shiny smile, “Woohoo! You hear that honey? I might be getting the Captain’s autograph!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dawn drew in another breath and groaned once more, “Wait. Wait, wait, wait. So you actually really know Iron Man? Thor? All of them?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yup!” Amelia grinned, “Tony actually walked me down the aisle at my wedding. And Thor officiated the marriage. Oh yeah, also I’m a princess now.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dawn seemed to choke on air, and promptly began to babble much like Noah.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was probably going to be a while before she could accept everything she had been told, but Amelia knew her friend would come around eventually.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If you're all a bit upset that there wasn't as much Loki in this chapter, be aware that there will definitely be a ton of Loki in the next chapter. Because the next chapter is an explicit chapter. WINK WONK, y'all excited for some fun??? ;)</p>
<p>P.S: We'll come back to Dawn, Rob and Noah at some point later in this story, once the babies are born. Because obviously a playdate will be in order xD At that point, Loki, Dawn and Rob will be a lot more comfortable with each other's presence.</p>
<p>This is your weekly reminder to leave me a COMMENT if you're enjoying this series! ;) Comment = more motivation for me!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. A Flight of Fantasy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Amelia gets curious about Loki's heritage, and then she has an interesting dream.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>(Accidentally posted this chapter to the wrong story at first WHOOPS I'm an idiot)</p>
<p>Hi everyone! Sorry for the slightly longer gap between last chapter and this chapter. There's been a whole lot of anxiety over this coronavirus outbreak and it has made it a little harder to write, but I got there in the end!</p>
<p>Hope everyone is staying safe! If anyone is feeling nervous or unhappy, I hope this update can at least provide a little respite.</p>
<p>This chapter is EXPLICIT. Sexual content ahead ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The convergence of flashy, green energy hovering between Amelia’s palms, now at the size of a tennis ball, was evidence of her progress in harnessing the magic within her. The grin on her face expressed nothing but joy at her headway, and Loki sat opposite her on the bed, his encouraging smile bright and effervescent. It was a pity that Loki didn’t smile like this more often, that he only allowed himself to let loose and beam when he was out of sight of the other Avengers.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia seemed to be the only one who was afforded the honour to see him like this.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s good, Amelia,” Loki praised, “now disperse it. I think you’ve strengthened your control enough to learn how to open locks, but we won’t start that until tomorrow.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia did as Loki had taught her, slowly moving her hands apart to let the energy break out of its spherical form and absorb back into her body. “Why tomorrow? Can’t you teach me now?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki snorted, “No. It’s late, and you have to gain an intrinsic understanding of how the lock you’re trying to pick actually words. So we’ll have to find a book on common Midgardian locks, and you’ll have to do some reading first.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia groaned. She had no problem with reading, of course, but only when the subject matter was something enthralling. A book on locks sounded like the most boring thing in the world, especially when all she wanted to do was jump straight into the practical side of being a magical lockpicker.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t become a master sorcerer without doing a little light reading every once in a while,” Loki stated, patting the bed beside him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess…” Amelia sighed longingly, but crawled up the bed to slip under the covers with Loki. They shared a chaste kiss, and Amelia cuddled up to Loki’s side, making herself comfortable in his secure embrace.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Whenever the subject of magic came up, Amelia’s mind was always inspired to ask a multitude of questions about Loki’s past. She liked to learn more about him whenever it was possible, but tonight there was one specific thing her thoughts kept drifting back to, and while she was hesitant to ask about it, the will to </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>was far more powerful.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Loki? Can I ask you something?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmm,” the answering hum was that of a positive nature, he was clearly feeling far too lazy to respond with actual words, plus he was currently nuzzling against Amelia’s neck and had no wish to stop.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I want to know more about Frost Giants.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia knew it was a sore spot as a topic for conversation, and it was reflected as much when Loki’s nuzzling paused and she felt him sigh deeply against her neck, his breath inadvertently tickling her skin, causing her to shiver.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you want to know?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She was pleasantly surprised that he had chosen to offer her information instead of coming up with an excuse to brush it off.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Anything. Everything.” Amelia’s voice was a quiet plea, and she saw Loki roll his eyes subtly in the darkness - he couldn’t hide that exasperation from her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright. Frost Giants are disgusting creatures. They’re huge brutes that are dimwitted and savage. They use their sharp teeth to tear their prey apart and eat their meat raw. Completely uncivilised, revolting, ugly freaks of nature. They would eat humans for breakfast, lunch and dinner if given the opportunity. They aren’t creatures that hold any kindness in their hearts. No compassion, no caring. They even show little mercy to their children.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia was partly taken aback by how terse he sounded as he listed off every terrible thing about the giants of Jotunheim, but on the other hand it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that he wasn’t able to list anything good about them. They abandoned him when he was days old.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But Amelia couldn’t help but wonder if he was making a few things up or at least exaggerating things to make them appear even worse than they were. She had questions about their race, and Loki himself, but it seemed no matter her interest, he just wanted to paint a horrific picture rather than give unbiased information. Again, not something Amelia could blame him for.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re quick to enrage, having no patience for anything or anyone that opposes them. The only thing that unites them as a species is their lust and respect for power. They would eagerly serve a powerful king - it does not matter if that king does things for himself or for his people. If he is powerful, they will respect him. If he is weak, however, he would be chewed up and spat out. Somebody stronger would take his place.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia hummed, showing that she was still interested, despite her silence. So far everything he had told her accurately reflected the idea she had of them in the first place, but there were a few miscellaneous curiosities she held that needed answers.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How tall are they usually?” She wondered aloud, “Because you’re pretty tall, but you said you were small for a Frost Giant.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki gave a slightly disgruntled sniffle, “They are more commonly around ten to twelve feet tall, but some grow as tall as twenty feet.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Twenty feet!?” The thought was alarming to Amelia, “That’s, uhm… intimidating.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki harrumphed, “Stature is nothing if you don’t have the brains to use it to your advantage.” He finally retracted his face from Amelia’s neck and peered at her with a raised eyebrow, “How tall did you think they were? They’re called </span>
  <em>
    <span>giants.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia looked sheepish, shrugging her shoulders. She hadn’t really thought about the name before - she knew they were tall, but she hadn’t taken the time to imagine just how tall they could actually be if Loki was considered a ‘runt’.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do they all have magic?” Amelia continued her line of questioning.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No. Some have more potential for magic than others.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay. What do they wear?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Very little,” Loki answered curtly, “unless they’re preparing for battle, in which case they will wear leather armour on their chests, made from the skins of beasts native to Jotunheim.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia eyed her husband, “When you say </span>
  <em>
    <span>very little…?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s eyes narrowed, “They cover what needs to be covered.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Why</span>
  </em>
  <span> do you need to know these things?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m just </span>
  <em>
    <span>curious,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia whined and then paused, “hey, if Frost Giants are all assholes with no compassion, and all they respect is power, what drives them to reproduce?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki leaned up on his elbows, lip curling with distaste, “I don’t know, I wasn’t raised by them, remember? I know only what I’ve been told and what I have read in books. Can we </span>
  <em>
    <span>please </span>
  </em>
  <span>get off the topic of Frost Giants reproducing?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia blushed, averting her gaze sheepishly, and grumbled a quiet affirmation. Loki sighed and returned to his place snuggled at her side, giving his wife’s belly a caring rub, “Now go to sleep.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It seemed Loki no longer wanted to entertain Amelia’s questions with any informative answers, but she was more than surprised that she’d gotten as much out of him as she had, so she was satisfied for now. Cuddling up against her husband, Amelia basked happily in his warmth and closed her eyes to go to sleep.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia wasn’t sure at which point she actually fell asleep, but she awoke some time later to the feeling of a light chill in the room. She whined, murmuring Loki’s name in her sleep-addled state, reaching across the sheets in search of her husband, who didn’t seem to be where she had last seen him. Amelia blinked her eyes open, bleary eyes searching, but Loki was nowhere to be seen.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmmmghh?” Amelia groused, pulling the sheets more tightly around her to keep the warm in, but when her eyes adjusted to the room around her, she froze.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This wasn’t her bed in her room at Avengers Tower.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She was somewhere else. Somewhere in which the bed was strikingly large, the furniture was carved from dark wood, and the walls and flooring seemed to be made from glass - or mirrors. Something shiny and reflective.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>For some reason, this did not alarm her as much as it should have.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Loki?” Amelia called out to the room, but was met with silence.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She rose from the bed, feet sinking into the furry rug below, wrapping herself in the thin bed sheet to cover her flimsy pyjamas, and stepped towards the only visible door. She let out a gasp as she stepped off the rug and onto the shiny floor, discovering it was not glass, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>ice </span>
  </em>
  <span>instead.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was not shockingly cold, but there was definitely a chill crawling up her legs.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She quickly made for the door and left, following down a hallway that led to another door that was far larger than the previous. She tried for all of four seconds to push the door open but found that it was quite impossible - it was too heavy, and she knew as a pregnant woman that straining herself with heavy objects was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>good.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Instead, she knocked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A moment passed, and then she heard footsteps approach, and the door opened up, revealing a large hall, made from ice, that looked almost as elegant as Thor’s throne hall in New Asgard.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t the first thing to catch her eye, however, as she found herself face to shin with a blue giant. Really. She was only as tall as it’s shins.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia gulped, craning her head to stare up at it, and began to stammer, “Um… I… I don’t know where I am. Do you know where Loki is?” Perhaps it was odd to assume the giant was friendly, but Amelia also did not feel threatened, despite the fact that if it was so inclined, it could crush her below it’s foot.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It narrowed it’s red eyes and then turned and headed into the hall. Amelia took this as an invitation to follow, and clutched the sheet a little more tightly around herself as she jogged to keep up. As she was led further into the room, she spotted a crowd of giants that varied in size - some towered above others, while some appeared not so massive, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>all</span>
  </em>
  <span> of them soared above her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Glancing past them, she saw what was presumably the throne, and upon the throne, she saw-</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Loki?” Amelia’s jaw dropped as she laid eyes upon the blue-skinned, black-haired, scantily-dressed man she had married.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Red eyes glanced her way, and Loki’s lips curled up in what looked to be a knowing smirk.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Your pet is awake, your majesty,” the giant that had let Amelia into the room spoke, his voice low and booming, tearing through and silencing the crowd gathered before Loki’s throne.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia blinked. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Pet?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can see that.” Loki responded. He stood gracefully and made his way through the crowd, parting it as he moved with a conceited strut; he smiled wickedly at Amelia before cocking his head and regarding the giant beside them, “The council meeting will be delayed, I have more important matters to attend to.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The giant nodded and walked away. Amelia stared up at Loki with a clueless expression.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s going on?” She whispered quietly. A small part of her felt that she probably should be more agitated with everything that was happening, but it just wasn’t so.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you doing out of bed, little dove?” Loki spoke, his voice like silk as he tilted her chin up and pressed his thumb against the corner of her lips.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I… I- did you just call me </span>
  <em>
    <span>little dove?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>In response to her question, Loki merely chuckled, rich and deep and throaty - it made Amelia’s spine tingle pleasantly. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And then he slipped a finger into her mouth.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Suck.” Loki ordered, and Amelia felt her face turn hot, knees weakening just a little as she obeyed him without question. Many quizzical thoughts rushed through Amelia’s mind, such as </span>
  <em>
    <span>where were they? Why was Loki in his Jotun form? Why was he commanding her to suck on his fingers?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Why was she even doing it?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Amelia’s cheeks were sufficiently flushed, Loki extricated his finger from her mouth and quickly bent to swoop her up into his arms. Amelia yelped, clutching onto him as he moved with strong and purposeful strides back the way she had originally come, back to the bedroom.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know better than to wander the palace, Amelia. I told you I would be back this afternoon after seeing to my court,” Loki said, it was all nonsense to Amelia, she had never heard him say such things before now, “but of course you cannot wait, can you? Not in your state.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“My state?” Amelia whimpered.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Your body and mind - full of need and desire,” he leaned down, his nose gently bumping her own almost playfully, “I’ll give you what you want, little dove, worry not.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“O-oh?” A shiver bolted down her spine, reflecting the truth in Loki’s words. The anticipation of what her husband was going to do to her had her practically vibrating, the trembling of her body had nothing to do with the fact that his skin was cool to the touch. She suddenly became very aware of the pleasant tingling between her legs, and pressed them more tightly together.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Was it just her, or did Loki seem a little… taller than usual?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His broad, blue, muscular chest seemed to be beckoning for Amelia’s touch, but her arms were still trapped below the sheet she had wrapped herself in. She was practically just a quivering burrito of want, and it seemed that this bigger, chillier, bluer version of her husband was going to devour her whole if she wasn’t careful.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Then again… would that really be so bad?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia licked her lips as they entered the bedroom and Loki shut and locked the door with a mere tilt of his head, sparkling green magic sizzling around the lock. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Well, that was surprisingly sexy. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She was placed gently on the bed, letting out a soft exhale when Loki immediately crouched above her; he didn’t give her much time to think before latching onto her neck, sucking hickeys into her skin, his wet lips hot against her despite the colder temperatures of the rest of his body.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She moaned and arched as he pulled away the sheet and dipped lower, below the collar of her pyjama top, across her collar bone. The tingle between her legs grew more insistent and demanded some form - </span>
  <em>
    <span>any </span>
  </em>
  <span>form - of friction.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Please,” she whispered, spreading her legs.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s smile was sinful as he cocked up an eyebrow, “Please </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia stared up at him dazedly, “Uhm… uh…?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Please, </span>
  <em>
    <span>my king.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>The Jotun corrected her, and Amelia let out a squeak.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“M-my king?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki found nothing but amusement in her squeals, laughing as he moved back off the bed, looming over her at his full height, and hooked his fingers below the rim of his leather and fur kilt-like covering. Amelia leaned on her elbows, watching on in anticipation as he slowly - devastatingly slowly - pushed down the garment.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It fell to the floor in a heap and his cock sprung forth, large and erect, and Amelia had to clamp a hand over her mouth to avoid making any sort of embarrassing exclamations. It was bigger than she had last seen it. Did it… did it grow in size when he took on his Jotun form?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Before she could mull over the curiosities of how it would fit inside her, Loki knelt on the bed and looked at her expectantly. The electrifying red of his eyes causing her to burn all over in the best sort of way; her breaths were coming fast and she spread her legs wide, despite still being clothed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She was eager, that much was obvious.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mm, so impatient little dove,” he tilted his head, and Amelia mumbled something about the silly nickname under her breath - though secretly she kinda liked it - but ultimately grabbed fistfuls of her pyjama top, intent on pulling it up over her head. She struggled for a moment from her position, before Loki grabbed ahold of the collar, pulling it away from her skin.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And it just sort of dissolved into thin air. Along with her pyjama pants, leaving her totally nude.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia gasped again, now her body was bared to Loki’s intense red gaze, and the look he was giving her promised to sate her fervent desires.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He called </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>the impatient one, yet he couldn’t even wait momentarily for her to shed her own clothes. Not that Amelia was overly bothered by this. Now there was nothing blocking what was to come.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck me,” Amelia whispered, her words slightly slurred as if delirious from arousal. She needed it like she needed the air she breathed, she wanted to feel every inch of his cock filling her up, and if she didn’t get it soon, she might very well explode.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How bold of you, pet, to command a king,” his words sounded like warm honey, and her body shook with thirst. His cold hand, covered with lightly raised markings, squeezed one of her breasts, pinching the nipple and making her whine, and then trailed down the front of her body, resting upon the bulge of her stomach, “I like you like this. Swollen with our children, my heirs. You have a divine look about you, always so desperate for my touch,” his expression turned impish, “I bet you would drop to your knees and suck my cock at any time of day, with little more than a simple spoken order, wouldn’t you? You needy little slut.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His mouth was again dragging across her skin, over her breasts and sucking on her nipples till she was practically writhing. Loki had never called her a slut before, he’d never really gone so far with dirty talk at all - but now, after she was twitching with pleasure before he had even touched her where she most wanted it - perhaps she should encourage him to do it more often.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Please, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please, </span>
  </em>
  <span>I need you,” the words rolled out of Amelia’s mouth in a haste.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A low chuckle sounded, “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>you do. Keep begging, my dear, you are delectable,” he eyed her stomach again, licking his lips, “I’ll let you in on a secret, little dove. When you give birth, I will breed you once again, and again after that. I’ll keep you like this, filling you over and over, nothing more than a willing vessel to continue my powerful lineage, my enthusiastic sex slave-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“E-excuse </span>
  <em>
    <span>me?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia’s indignation was left useless while the breathlessness in her voice was overpowering, and for some reason, the idea filled her with utter </span>
  <em>
    <span>glee.</span>
  </em>
  <span> “Lokiiiiiii,” Amelia whined helplessly. When she tried to touch herself, Loki kept her hands pinned beside her head, denying her what she most desperately </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s it, pet,” Loki encouraged, his voice muffled as he nipped and sucked little marks onto her chest. His teeth seemed sharper than usual. “Are you ready for me yet? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tell </span>
  </em>
  <span>me how ready you are.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I am! I’m ready!” Amelia cried, “Pl-please, I’m ready! Fuck, I’m so wet.” She could feel it leaking out of her, desperate for stimulation.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes. You are,” Loki laughed, but otherwise did nothing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia reached her boiling point. She grabbed a fistful of his hair, pulling his head closer, and snapped, “Stop </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking </span>
  </em>
  <span>teasing me!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A loud, throaty growl escaped him, and he twisted out of her grip, rising to his feet, hands clenched around each of Amelia’s thighs. He looked almost scary, red eyes narrowed, nostrils flared, teeth bared, but Amelia was far from afraid.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With his hands tightly clamped on her legs, he dragged her to the very edge of the bed, spread them wide, and pressed the head of his cock against her slick folds.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Very well, my feisty little dove. I will do as you request, for the heat of your quim is far too enticing to put off any longer.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With that, he slid forward, penetrating her body slowly, throwing his head back as he panted, and Amelia released an involuntary cry. The sensation was new, unusual, and oh so good - the feeling of his cold flesh mixing with her core left her whimpering and gasping for more.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The feeling of friction </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally </span>
  </em>
  <span>bringing boundless pleasure was like breaking through the surface and gulping in air after being underwater for far too long.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His initial slow thrust in was just for show, because he immediately began pounding her hard and fast, setting an unforgiving pace. Amelia’s face heated up as she let out practically pornographic moans that she didn’t seem able to control. The feeling of him filling her up after such a long, gradual build up left her salivating.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The spread of warmth in her loins increased slowly, and Amelia felt her end approaching embarrassingly fast, but what ended up setting her off and pushing her towards her crescendo was the toothy grin Loki gave her, his red eyes gleaming and showing that he was fully smug that he was bringing her this pleasure.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Just before she came, he leaned down and ran his tongue over her cheek, tasting the sweat on her skin, “This is a dream, Amelia.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hu-huwuh?” She grumbled unintelligibly, because she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>right there. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Just a few more moments, and she would tumble over the edge.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re dreaming, Amelia.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia blinked her eyes open, a yelp escaping her, she could feel her heart pumping hard in her chest along with the pleasant pulses of her clit as she rode her orgasm, far softer and gentler than she expected it to be.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She was home, in Avengers Tower. It was dark and Loki was staring at her with sleepy eyes. Amelia quickly realised everything that had happened had been a dream - because </span>
  <em>
    <span>of course it was, </span>
  </em>
  <span>it was so obvious now, but it certainly hadn’t been obvious while she was getting dicked down by her Jotun-King-husband.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was drool leaking from the corner of her mouth and she quickly wiped it away with her hand, wondering if Loki had noticed. Oh god. Had he heard her? Heard her moaning like a porn star in her sleep?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Were you having a nightmare?” Loki questioned, a hint of suspicion in his tone, and Amelia gulped. That answered her question.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, uh- a nightmare. Real scary. There were, uh, big purple monsters with giant googly eyes chasing me around. Terrifying.” She cleared her throat, pressing the back of her hand against her cheek to find it very hot. This was the most embarrassing thing ever - being caught in the middle of a sex dream.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki stared at her for a few moments, eyebrows cocked, before shrugging slightly and lying back down beside her, “Well, it was just a dream…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah… just a dream…” She trailed off. Thanks to her fantasies, she had the overwhelming desire to see Loki naked in his Jotun form, but the more she thought about it, the more she probably figured it wouldn’t be quite so… comfortable… to have sex with a frost giant, just not practical at all.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Still, that didn’t stop her from thinking about it for the rest of the night, even as Loki slept by her side. She remained awake, wondering if there was an innocuous way to pose the question of bringing role-playing or dirty talk into their sex life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope everyone enjoyed this. As stated before, I'm not a seasoned smut writer, I only do it very rarely and I hope it comes across alright! It is very difficult to write smut, so if you enjoyed this and would like to see more in future chapters (maybe not so much in dreams next time!) then PLEASE leave me a comment of encouragement, maybe point out what you liked the most just to give me a heads up for when I write smut next time around. I would appreciate it so much!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Little Bump in the Road</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Loki and Amelia find out the results of the ultrasound scan.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Oh my God. Quarantine is so damn annoying. How typical is it that Britain has such shit weather all year long, but the moment we're forbidden from leaving our houses, the sun decides to show it's face? Literally a couple months ago it was constant rain and like twelve different awful storms that caused horrible flooding to some parts of the country, and now it's all sunshine and daisies outside but we aren't allowed out except for to go to work or to the shop.</p>
<p>Anyway. Despite my ongoing struggle with anxiety and my growing low mood about this whole awful global situation, I managed to smash out another chapter. I hope it's up to standard and that you all enjoy it. Thank you, as always, for your support. &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Twenty weeks marked the half-way point of Amelia’s pregnancy, and with it came the ultrasound scan that would determine the genders of her’s and Loki’s children. Bruce called in a sixty-something year old female doctor by the name of Harrison to perform the scan, and Amelia quickly found herself laying upon the infirmary bed wiggling her toes in excitement to see her growing babies.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you hoping they’ll be?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia looked up from where the obstetrician was in the process of spreading gel over her belly, but before she could think about the innocuous question posed by the doctor, Loki - who was sitting on Amelia’s other side - spoke up in a very monotonous tone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Preferably humanoid.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The doctor shot Loki a puzzled glance and Amelia rolled her eyes, giving her husband a pointed look, “He’s just kidding around,” she sighed. The thing was, Loki more than likely </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>kidding around at all. Amelia knew he was concerned about whether his children would come out blue, and that he often covered up his nerves with dry humour, but for the sake of the doctor that Bruce had personally called in, Amelia wanted to try and keep things light for the precious moment.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They were about to discover something that would probably shape their future, after all.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t have a preference. Boys or girls, or one of each, I already love them both,” Amelia admitted, and to that, the doctor’s eyes lit up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s something I love to hear,” Doctor Harrison stated, “honestly, you wouldn’t believe the amount of times I’ve performed an ultrasound on an expecting mum that’s burst into tears when the child wasn’t the gender she was hoping for.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was Loki’s time to roll his eyes, “what is it with you humans and your obsession with gender?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harrison gave Loki a weary look, and before Amelia could once again sputter out that Loki was just joking around, the doctor instead retorted, “Gender is an intrinsic part of most human’s identities, I’m sure an alien like you wouldn’t understand.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki immediately went tense.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia’s jaw hung open.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Up until that point, Amelia and Loki had both been under the assumption that the specialised doctor that Bruce had called in had </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> known about Loki’s true identity, and that Banner had called her in due to the fact she was clueless about who she was performing the ultrasound on.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Clearly that wasn’t the case.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The fact that Doctor Harrison knew Loki was an alien meant that she must have known… most other things about him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce could’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>warned </span>
  </em>
  <span>them that Harrison was one-hundred percent aware, but Amelia supposed it was just another wrong assumption on their part.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki peered over at the doctor with a narrow gaze, an expression he typically reserved for those he was choosing to intimidate, but the doctor appeared to simply brush it off.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If you tell a single soul-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Harrison swiftly cut him off, “Don’t worry, I admire and trust Doctor Banner, and as he asked me not to relay any of this encounter to anybody, you can trust that I will remain silent. In other words, your secret is safe with me,” she explained, pinning Loki with a brief sarcastic smile, before turning her attention back to Amelia, her expression turning more genuine and sweet, “now, shall we get started?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki appeared to almost sputter with indignation at being brushed off so assuredly, Amelia fought the urge to laugh and enthusiastically nodded her head. The older doctor pulled the equipment up to the bed and lifted the probe, pressing it to Amelia’s stomach; the screen was pinned with intense stares from everybody in the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When the image appeared, although grainy and unclear, it was evident that the rounded shapes were the heads of the babies, and that was enough for Amelia to have to blink back tears. Seeing them more clearly than ever made everything about her pregnancy so much more real, reminding her that, </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes, </span>
  </em>
  <span>this was going to happen very soon.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There they are,” Amelia whispered, biting her lip gently, before looking to Loki, searching his expression for a reaction. He remained tense from the interaction with the obstetrician, but his eyes were wide as he gazed as the screen, lips tightly pursed. He was trying to hide his emotions, but Amelia could see that they were like a whirlwind behind his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes! These two seem pretty lax for the moment, apart from subtle movements - you probably can’t feel them yet?” Doctor Harrison asked, and Amelia nodded in affirmation, “It’ll start out like flutters, and as the pregnancy progresses, it’ll feel far more noticeable,” the doctor continued to explain.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia felt her excited smile widen, “I can’t wait for that to happen.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are they normal?” Loki enquired.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Normal?” Doctor Harrison raised an eyebrow before turning back to the screen, “Well, their positioning is good, vertical and head down, which lessens the chances of complications during birth. But if you’re concerned, I can monitor their breathing and heart rate?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It hadn’t been what Loki meant, but he nodded nonetheless.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll get to that in a moment, but if you’re ready to hear, I can tell you what genders they are?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes!” Amelia squeaked, “Please! Oh, I’m so excited!” She put her hands to her face, flushing with elation.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Doctor Harrison chuckled, pointing to the screen, “This one here, the baby on your left-hand side, is a boy. The baby on your right is a girl.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A wave of delight rushed through Amelia and she squealed, covering her mouth to hide the embarrassment of her very vocal joy. Her cheeks went pink almost immediately and Loki took her hands in his own when she reached out to him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re having a boy and a girl! This is so amazing!” Amelia felt so energised by the news that she was sure she would have difficulty sleeping that night, from the simple reason that she would be thinking about what would soon be. What her children would look like, how they would act, their personalities - it felt so close and yet so far away.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki smiled at her glee, nodding his head in agreement, but was otherwise quiet.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His reaction caused Amelia to deflate somewhat - she knew that he wasn’t the type to be so flagrant with his emotions, especially not in front of company he was not accustomed to, but Amelia had envisioned him being a little more lively at the news. It opened up so many possibilities for the future, they would have the best of both worlds, as it were.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t until after they were leaving the infirmary that Loki realised Amelia was upset about something. She had wanted to head straight to the communal lounge to relay the news to everybody about the newly discovered genders of their soon to be born children, but instead she headed straight for the elevator, intent on returning to their room. She was also very quiet, which was rather uncharacteristic of her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s wrong, Amelia?” Loki asked her outright, there was no point in trying to get the reason for her actions out in any sort of subtle way because he’d never get the truth out of her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia shook her head at first, but after a few moments she crossed her arms and sighed, “Were you happy with the results of the ultrasound?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki tilted his head, “Yes, of course.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You didn’t seem it.” Amelia’s response was curt and dry, and Loki grabbed her arm and stopped her in the middle of the hallway, pinning her with a purposeful look.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You really think I’m not happy that our children are healthy?” He suppressed the need to show the irritation in his voice at Amelia’s outrageous assumption, to think that he may not have been over the moon to discover that the pregnancy was progressing as it perfectly should be.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well you didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>show </span>
  </em>
  <span>it,” Amelia groused, retracting her arm from his grip, “you looked distracted. I’m sorry, were there more </span>
  <em>
    <span>important</span>
  </em>
  <span> things on your mind?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki pursed his lips, giving Amelia the benefit of the doubt - perhaps her snap of anger was a result of her hormones being all over the place, but her attempt at guilt-tripping still vexed him to no end. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You were really rude to that doctor, you know,” Amelia continued with reproach, “you didn’t have to be such an asshole to her.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to respond and explain himself, but Amelia didn’t give him the chance.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You were going to threaten her! At the possibility of telling people about us!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” Loki affirmed, “because I don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>want </span>
  </em>
  <span>people to know about us!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki knew immediately that Amelia had taken his exclamation the complete wrong way because the anger in her face turned quickly to dejection, and she took a few steps away from him, lip quivering as she did so.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you ashamed of me?” Amelia’s quiet query was heartbreaking, she followed it up with miserable babbling, and Loki rushed to clarify his words.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, </span>
  <em>
    <span>no, </span>
  </em>
  <span>of course I’m not ashamed of you!” His sharp, incredulous tone caused Amelia to flinch, so he resumed more gently, “I am not ashamed of you. I love you, Amelia. And if I could, I would show you off to the world, but that is not a possibility. It is different in New Asgard, you are safer there, but here... no other Midgardians can know that you are tied to me, because it paints a target on your head.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia blinked back the tears that had welled up and made a barely coherent noise of puzzlement, carefully wiping the moisture away from her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The Avengers have many enemies,” Loki enlightened, though the fact itself was pretty common knowledge, “there are people out there who will do unspeakable things if it means taking revenge on any of us… and there are a lot of people who still despise me for who I once was. Do you understand what I’m telling you, Amelia?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The cogs appeared to be turning behind Amelia’s eyes, but she remained addled, perhaps only partially understanding the implications behind what he was telling her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki sighed. “Amelia, if your identity as my wife became known to all of Midgard, those select people - bad people - would hunt you down to get back at me. They would not hesitate to hurt our </span>
  <em>
    <span>children </span>
  </em>
  <span>if it meant taking revenge on me. I know this for a fact, because I have </span>
  <em>
    <span>been</span>
  </em>
  <span> one of those people.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia understood now. Loki saw the change in her face, the way her eyes grew wide, pupils dilating under the stress of the new information, her silence as she digested it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Now you know why I cannot simply trust people like Doctor Harrison so blindly. I do not know them, I do not know if they can be trusted. All I want is to protect you, Amelia,” his eyes lowered and his features softened, “and our children.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia sank against him, wordlessly asking for the comfort of his embrace - which he gave her - and pressed the side of her head to his chest. “I’m… sorry I got mad,” she quietly admitted. “I misunderstood your emotions. I’m sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I forgive you,” Loki responded, a small smile playing at his lips, “please understand that I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am </span>
  </em>
  <span>happy and excited about our children.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia nodded against him, content to bask in the soothing presence of his arms.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I suppose we ought to go and share the news with everybody, then?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia pulled her head back and smiled warmly, nodding in assent. She gazed at her husband with admiration for a few moments, and then tilted her head as confusion once again washed over her face, “Wait, if you don’t trust people you don’t know, why are you okay with Dawn and Rob knowing about us?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki looked sheepish, “Well, I… I may have talked to them while you were not present in the room.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What? What did you tell them?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I merely informed them that they were not to reveal anything about us to anybody - it was to stay between them, and that failing to abide that simple rule could result in you falling into harm’s way.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia eyed him for a suspiciously long time, “Did you threaten Dawn and Rob?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No!” Loki shook his head, “No, I just told them sternly not to tell anybody.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Silence.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You did threaten them, didn’t you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki swallowed, “Maybe perhaps only a tiny bit. But it was for your protection!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia ran her hand down over her face out of exasperation, “I can’t believe you sometimes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Loki is a big ball of anxious. Just when you think something has settled in his mind, three more anxieties rear their ugly heads. Will Loki EVER be able to relax? How will the other Avengers react upon the news of the babies genders? Find out on the next episode of Dragon Ball Z... wait, that's the wrong fandom.</p>
<p>Joking aside, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Your kind words always keep my spirits high, so I hope that if you liked this chapter, you will leave a comment and let me know :) Thank you so much &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Home Sweet Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Amelia and Loki reveal the results of the ultrasound to the Avengers.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It's a rough time right now for everyone in the world. I've been told by a few people that updates to this fic bring them a lot of joy, so I do hope this chapter can give some of you a quick reprieve from the unwanted chaos in the world right now.</p>
<p>Remember: stay home, stay safe, save lives.</p>
<p>My preferred method of staying sane right now is wrapping myself in a blanket burrito and playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons for hours on end :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nat’s gonna be happy that we’re having at least one girl, Tony too - he thinks girls are cuter than boys, oh and I’m pretty sure Steve will be happy we’re having a boy. I did ask Clint and Bruce what they were hoping we would have, and they both said they had no preference. Do you know what your brother was hoping for?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki gave Amelia a strange look as they walked alongside each other on their route towards the communal living quarters; she seemed strung up on how everybody else would feel about the genders of their twins and it did nothing but confuse Loki. What did it matter what the others wanted? The twins were </span>
  <em>
    <span>their </span>
  </em>
  <span>children, not the Avenger’s children.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He elected not to answer her question, “Why do humans care so much about knowing the gender of their offspring before they are born?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia returned an odd gaze, “Well, it’s just… normal? People like to know what gender their child is going to be because it helps them prepare better. There are some people who prefer not to know till the day their child is born, though.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How would one prepare differently?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, just…” Amelia shrugged her shoulders, “raising girls and raising boys are two pretty different experiences.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“In what way?” Loki persisted, earning himself another peculiar look from his wife.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know… girls are more nurturing and quiet, sensible… boys can be loud and aggressive.” Amelia did not appear to be so confident in her remark.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve known some women to be loud and aggressive, and on the contrary, men who are gentle and quiet,” Loki pointed out, and Amelia let out a sigh.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, fine, I’m just repeating what I’ve been told. Maybe I’m totally wrong, I’m just saying what I know.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think our children’s personalities, actions and beliefs will depend on how we raise them. Their gender is irrelevant. Perhaps you equate aggression and loudness with boys, and quietness and nurturing with girls because Midgardians </span>
  <em>
    <span>raise</span>
  </em>
  <span> them to be that way.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia processed his supposition and raised her eyebrows in agreement, her lack of response indicated that she thought Loki was one-hundred percent correct. He smiled almost smugly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And for that reason,” Loki continued, “we will raise our son as the quiet nurturing one, while our daughter can be loud and aggressive, </span>
  <em>
    <span>just </span>
  </em>
  <span>so we can confuse any Midgardians we meet.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia didn’t seem on board with the idea. “I don’t think we should-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Relax, darling. I was only joking.” Amusement was peppered over his face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They turned into the shared living quarters where everybody - except Thor - was gathered in anticipation to find out the news; Tony perked up when they walked in and dropped his phone to the table, giving them his full attention.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well? Out with it. Are we having two little girls like I predicted?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope!” Amelia exclaimed, putting emphasis on the ‘p’, and gave Tony a moment to silently sulk before revealing, “but we are having </span>
  <em>
    <span>one </span>
  </em>
  <span>girl! And a boy!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wa-hey!” Tony gave a victorious shout, “That’s fantastic! Can’t wait to meet ‘em, bubbles!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We can only hope they’ll be well behaved angels instead of little brats,” Clint remarked, a sarcastic but humorous smile on his face, “though, given that they’ve got Loki’s blood running through their veins, I wouldn’t bet on it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm,” Loki hummed, his face not betraying his feelings over Clint’s blatant jab, “I’ll have so much fun teaching them to collect spiders and place them under your pillow.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Natasha’s slow clapping interrupted before Clint and Loki could begin a match of wits, and she smiled at Amelia, “So happy to hear the news. I would </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>to teach them how to fight when they’re old enough to learn.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia’s mouth fell open in surprise, “How to fight? Oh! Well, I’m not sure they would-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good idea Nat!” Steve declared, “Maybe I could assist? Teach them how to lift weights, hit a punching bag, gotta build them muscles up!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They might not want to train to fight, maybe they’ll be more interested in learning the sciences, in which case,” Bruce placed a hand on his chest, “I would </span>
  <em>
    <span>gladly </span>
  </em>
  <span>be their teacher.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tony spread his arms wide, “Hey, why not both? Brains </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>brawn.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><span>“Maybe they won’t wanna fight or become scientists,” Amelia pointed out, one finger raised, “maybe they’ll wanna become artists, or- or film stars, or maybe poets or songwriters, heck, perhaps they’ll be medical doctors or firefighters or police officers- </span><em><span>who knows, </span></em><span>they might even decide they wanna arrange flowers for a living!”</span> <span>Amelia paused and cleared her throat, growing a little sheepish when everyone turned to stare at her, “Sorry. I’m just saying, if they don’t want to be fighters or scientists, then that’s </span><em><span>okay.”</span></em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki peered down at his wife, smiling slightly at her outburst. The Avenger’s overexcitable interjections had been getting on his nerves too, but Amelia made a fine point. Their children would choose their own paths in life, though naturally Loki hoped they would at least dabble in the art of magic, for it was something he would love to teach his children, as his mother had taught him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re right,” Tony nodded, reclining back in his seat, “we’ll just have to wait and see.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A commotion drew everybody’s attention to the entrance of the room, heavy footsteps sounding fast as someone speedily approached.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m here!” Thor’s voice sounded before he appeared around the corner, almost slipping slightly on the floor as he came to a sudden stop, looking as if he had run all the way from Norway. He deflated when he saw that Amelia and Loki were already present, “Ah, I’m late. So very sorry - had to deal with… King stuff, you know-” he waved his hand in a vague gesture through the air, before smiling brilliantly at Amelia.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well? How are the babies?” He seemed quite thrilled to find out how the pregnancy had been progressing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Before Amelia could joyfully respond, another voice permeated the air.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait- Thor!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The fleeting confusion was brushed aside when Amelia pinpointed who the voice belonged to moments before the Asgardian woman rushed into the room, chasing after Thor. It was Inga, of course, looking bright and beautiful in a pretty Asgardian gown, huffing and puffing from her attempt to keep up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh! Sorry Inga, I was too excited,” Thor smiled abashedly, one hand scratching at the back of his neck while the other was offered out for Inga to take. Inga breathed a sigh and smiled, taking her king’s hand delicately, before stepping up to his side.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll forgive you this once,” Inga teased, before giving Amelia her attention, “I wanted to come by and check on your progress! Well, it looks like they’re definitely growing,” she eyed Amelia’s stomach, her tone playful.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia blushed, patting her belly, “It’s good to see you both, I missed you!” Seeing as Thor spent most of his time in New Asgard, working on the expansion of his kingdom and creating alliances with the neighbouring populace, Amelia only got to see him during his occasional visits and when he made a rest stop after aiding the rest of the Avengers with the infrequent mission that demanded his help.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki spoke up. “You’ll be pleased to hear that Asgard will soon be the home to a new prince and princess.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thor’s eyes lit up like twinkling lights on a Christmas tree, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Absolutely wonderful! Glorious, I will take great pleasure in relaying this news to all of Asgard.” He gathered Amelia up in a warm hug, far more gentle than he would usually go about hugging people, all the while Inga seemed flush with contentment.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We can hardly wait till they are born! Has a due date been surmised?” Inga inquired.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“February 7th, the doctor believes,” Amelia joyfully confirmed, “it seems like it’s both so near and so far.” It was no doubt one of those things that would come so incredibly fast, but then stretch out the last few weeks to an unbearably long waiting period.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We will have a feast - a sublime banquet and celebration in the weeks leading up to their birth, and another one soon after, of course! It will require a lot of planning, there will be festivity, food, music, dancing-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia interrupted Thor’s fast-paced, excitable plans, “Um, Thor! I don’t think… well, the food for certain, </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but I can’t imagine I will be in a, um, partying mood? Around my due date?” She hated to put a damper on his enthusiasm for the honouring of his future niece and nephew, but she had to be realistic as well.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thor’s cheeks grew red and he cleared his throat, “Oh, right. Yes, I didn’t think about that. My apologies,” he looked desperately thoughtful for a moment, as if trying to cook up another idea that would be more appropriate, but he seemed to be struggling.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“A gift-giving gala, perhaps?” Loki suggested, and Amelia cocked an eyebrow at her husband’s usage of alliteration. Before she could ask what exactly was involved with the </span>
  <em>
    <span>gift-giving gala - </span>
  </em>
  <span>which may have sounded self-explanatory, but Amelia knew better than to make assumptions about Asgardian traditions - Thor once again brightened.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“An excellent idea, brother!” Without warning, Thor enclosed Loki in a suffocating hug, catching him off guard. Loki grunted and tensed, trying subtly to break out of the hold while a very indignant expression befell his features, to no avail.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia couldn’t help but laugh at Loki’s vexed glare. A little part of her knew that Thor was probably trying to rile Loki up on purpose, with playful intent, but it was also rather heartwarming, because there was a genuineness in the hug reserved only for the two siblings. Thor was clearly very happy that he would soon be the uncle to two children, and was proud of his brother, who would soon be a loving, caring father.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This was her family. Everybody in the Avengers tower was </span>
  <em>
    <span>family. </span>
  </em>
  <span>And they were all excited for her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia remained a happy ball of joy throughout the day, contented by Thor’s visit, and continued to feel the flood of joy even after he returned to New Asgard through the Bifrost; she made her way with Loki to their room, chatting animatedly about how she had enjoyed everyone being together and sharing in their elation about the pregnancy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Upon reaching their room, Amelia paused. “So, what is this gift-giving gala?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki smiled knowingly, holding the door open and letting his wife in first, “It is a far more tame sort of celebration. There is music and a feast, but it is slower-paced and less rowdy, but more importantly, the attendees present gifts to the subject of the event. Which, in this case, would be you and the children,” he paused, giving a slight shrug, “and me. But mostly you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What? People are gonna be giving me gifts?” Amelia pouted, “I’m so bad at accepting gifts from people I know, much less people I </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>know…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh. You’re never happy with </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki groused, though there was a playful smile on his face, “you only feel like that because you think you don’t deserve gifts. Well, you’re wrong. You deserve everything.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was such a sweet offhand remark that Amelia looked wide-eyed at her husband, her cheeks involuntarily turning pink with the rush of grateful adoration she felt. “Loki…” she murmured quietly, looking shyly to the ground as she toed her shoes off and sat down on the bed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki shed his shoes and jacket and climbed onto the bed, slotting himself behind her so that he could hold her close to his chest, “Think of it this way, after nine months of carrying our growing children in your belly, I’m sure you’ll be tired, maybe even exhausted. After </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>that work of delivering our children, don’t you think you’ll be deserving of them then?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia leaned back against him, smiling subtly, “Mmm… maybe. I guess so…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good.” Loki nuzzled his nose against her hair, “I’m going to shower. Do you want to get ready for bed?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmmhmm.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Just over ten minutes later, Loki left the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist, to find Amelia fiddling with the blankets and pillows upon the bed, rearranging them in ways she never had. She’d grabbed the cushions from the couch and added them to the organised mess of comfort items she had created.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you doing? Nesting? Are you a bird?” Loki inquired, one eyebrow tilted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia rolled her eyes and snorted, “I just wanted everything to be more… comfortable.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki took another look at the bed, where all the blankets and pillows had been positioned in a way that sort of surrounded Amelia and boxed her in, lending all their comfort to her and not so much to him. “I think you forgot about me. Where do I fit into this?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia scratched her neck sheepishly, “Good question… I’m in a pillow-fort kind of mood.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Pillow fort?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh shut up. You’ve built a pillow fort before.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I don’t think I have,” Loki remarked, and was met with Amelia’s jaw hanging open.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We need to build a goddamn pillow fort.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Whatever this </span>
  <em>
    <span>pillow fort </span>
  </em>
  <span>was, it would have to wait for another time, because all Loki wanted to do was spoon his wife and rub his hand in circles over her growing belly; the doctor - despite being something of a fool, </span>
  <em>
    <span>and he’d expressed as much to Banner earlier </span>
  </em>
  <span>- had said that Amelia would very soon start to feel the occasional flutters of their children moving within her, and it was something Loki did not want to miss in the slightest.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know,” Amelia began later that evening when they were lying beside each other and basking in warmth, “we should probably go shopping for supplies. Things for the babies… clothes, toys, cribs… we need to be prepared. I wonder if there’s a spare room on this floor that we can transform into a nursery. Do you think Tony will let us?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you joking?” Loki mumbled sleepily against her shoulder, “Of course he would. Have you seen the way he acts like an excitable fool whenever you start talking about the children? He’d build them their own palace if you wished for it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you all for your continued support. The last couple times I've posted, I've had comments asking for a little preview about what the next chapter will be about, so I'll let you all know that the next chapter will be about Amelia and Loki shopping for and creating a nursery for their babies! It should be fluffy and funny, and I hope you all enjoy it. &lt;3</p>
<p>Please remember to leave me a comment, it helps me to stay sane in these trying times ;)</p>
<p>P.S: We've made it to chapter 10 relatively quickly! I'm kinda proud of myself. Here's to another 10 chapters within the next few months! I couldn't have done it without all the wonderful comments you guys give me! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Preparation is Key</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Amelia and Loki make a start on purchasing supplies and setting up the nursery.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You ever get an intense desire to start working on a new fic but you gotta commit and finish the final story of the series you've been working on for two years straight? I hate when that happens. I've gotten awesome ideas for a fic for a totally different fandom but I KNOW I can't start it until I finish this one. Well, at least I'm on the final fic of this series xD I've been making great progress on Hydrangeas, if I do say so myself, and I don't intend to stop or slow down any time soon. I will finish this fic, and it'll be one of my greatest achievements. As somebody who never used to be able to complete fics, I'm so proud of myself for coming this far. Four stories in, and we're on our way to completing Amelia and Loki's story.</p>
<p>I will definitely cry when this fic is over lmfao. I'm not sure how many chapters this will have but right now I'm expecting it'll be somewhere around 25-ish.</p>
<p>Man, I love all of you.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why do humans colour-code their infants?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia peered up from the soft pink baby onesie she was pinching between her fingers in a bid to test the texture of the fabric, finding Loki’s disapproving expression as he examined the selection - or lack thereof - for newborn infant clothing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why is everything either blue for boys or pink for girls?” His lips pulled back in subtle disgust, “Where’s the </span>
  <em>
    <span>green?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The first stop of the day was the local mall’s infant-care shop, which had a whole bunch of baby clothes, supplies and other necessities; Loki was donning a disguise that consisted of sunglasses and a black cap he’d pulled his hair into, hiding it from those who may have had a sharp eye for superheroes. On top of that, he was wearing clothes that could be considered normal wear, instead of his all-black ensemble suit that made him look like a vampire.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia smiled, a hint of apology in her gaze on behalf of the human race, “Yeah, a lot of people are pretty strict about what colour children wear. It’s another dumb gender thing.” Across the room, deeper into the shop, Amelia could see what seemed to be a more broad range of clothing options, “We may find something better down there.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They waded further in, eventually coming face to face with a greater assortment of colours down one specific aisle.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, you have to be kidding me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia’s eyebrows rose up as she looked back at what Loki had homed in on and was now holding at arm’s length like it was a bag of trash. Her eyes found the onesie, taking in the familiar colour mix of red and gold, and she smirked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“When I grow up, I wanna be Iron Man,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> she read the words on the front of it aloud, finding much amusement in the way her husband rolled his eyes behind his tinted sunglasses. “I think we should buy that one.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t you dare,” Loki pulled it away when Amelia tried to reach for it, and placed it back on the rack before urging her to move on down the aisle with a hand at the small of her back, “we will </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>give Stark the satisfaction of dressing one of our children in </span>
  <em>
    <span>that.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aww, but it would make him so happy!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It would inflate his ego, which is already the size of a planet.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Look who’s talkin’.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki silently squinted at Amelia through his sunglasses, but the only indication of it that she could see was the furrow of his eyebrows; she gave him a wide, smug grin before returning her attention to the many baby clothes hanging before her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The sight of them made her feel bubbly - they were so </span>
  <em>
    <span>cute, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and just the thought of imagining her own newborn children dressed in them brought with it a world of joy. They ended up picking out two sets of pastel green, two sets of a soft yellow and two sets of mid-tone purple; it was enough for the moment as Amelia imagined they would probably receive a lot of baby clothes as gifts, and if not - well… she could always come back for that Iron-Man onesie.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They explored around the shop and Amelia picked up items that she knew were necessities while Loki trailed along behind her, inspecting everything with a curious and critical eye.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s that?” he asked as Amelia dropped a pack of pacifiers into the basket Loki was carrying.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Pacifiers,” she answered plainly, before remembering Loki wouldn’t know that they were, “they’re comfort items. Babies suck on them.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Another few minutes of browsing passed and then Loki questioned once again, “What is </span>
  <em>
    <span>this?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He pointed to the box on the shelf on which a particular contraption was pictured.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia cleared her throat, “That’s a breast pump, Loki.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Breast pump?” Loki spoke as though he knew exactly what those two words meant individually, but when put together, made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Amelia rubbed off the awkwardness that was definitely showing on her face and took a moment to think of a way to explain what the product did without causing her face to turn even pinker than it already was.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It… It pumps milk out of the breasts so that you can feed the babies when you’re unable to nurse them… among other reasons.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki blinked, seemingly unphased by the explanation, “Oh. Do we need one?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia’s mouth hung open for a moment, suspended in the middle of a thought, “Um. I don’t know. Maybe? It might be… beneficial? I don’t know. I’ve never been pregnant before!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s face creased into something between amusement and fondness, and he picked up the box, placing it into the basket, shrugging as he did so, “Best to be safe than sorry.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia flushed and smiled, shaking her head free of the minor embarrassment, and nodded her head in agreement, “True.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The next stop after the clothing and product essentials was a shop that sold cribs, and high-quality cribs at that, because Loki wouldn’t settle for anything less than perfect for his children. He had already expressed that if he had his wish, they would live permanently in New Asgard, and wouldn’t have to worry about purchasing items from sellers they weren’t sure they could trust, because Loki could just snap his fingers and have the items built by competent carpenters with the utmost care.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia, however, was not content with living full time in the palace, living life as a princess on a constant basis. While she was grateful for everything the Asgardians had offered, she still saw herself as a regular non-royal person who liked to kick back and act silly every once in a while, which probably wouldn’t be so welcomed in the palace.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They’d agreed to move between the two locations every few months after the children were born, because Amelia felt it was important for them to know the ins and outs of both lives - as a prince and princess, and as regular children.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>On the way to purchase some cribs, Amelia found herself distracted as they walked past a shop popular for their lingerie and other… adult products. She slowed to a stop, staring into the entrance, her gaze travelling all the way to the back of the shop where she could very clearly see fluffy handcuffs and whips hanging on the wall. She gulped, quickly remembering the dream she had had not that long ago that left her breathless to recall, in which Loki had been rough and dominating.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It left her light-headed in a wonderful way.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Amelia?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia’s head snapped forward to where Loki was standing in front of her, clutching the bags of supplies they had purchased, his head tilted in confusion, with maybe a little curiosity thrown in there… and a dab of impatience.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, sorry.” Amelia mumbled, “let’s go.” She wanted to get going before Loki realised what she had been staring at, but it was all too late because Loki quickly followed that line of sight and came face to face with the contents of the shop.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She saw, even with his sunglasses on, that his face twitched with knowing and smug amusement, before he pinned her with a pointed glance. Maybe he hadn’t seen what she’d been looking at specifically, but she was sure he had a pretty good idea.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up.” Amelia grumbled before he had time to say anything, and continued walking on to avoid the mortification.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Over the next few days, Stark made preparations to have the unused room opposite Amelia and Loki’s bedroom ready for decorating. It was cleaned till spotless and any unused furniture was removed, leaving it completely free to mold into whatever they wanted it to be. Tony offered to have somebody assemble the cribs they had purchased, but Amelia declined the help - to Loki’s dismay - and declared that they would be the ones to assemble it, claiming that it would be a fun, parental exercise.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was not a fun exercise. Loki didn’t know how to assemble furniture. The instruction manual was unnecessarily confusing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why can’t midgardians just say what they mean?” Loki groused as he scanned over the unclear instructions and debatable diagrams while Amelia lounged on the recliner with her feet up. “There are two possibilities here, either I’m doing this wrong and the instructions are </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit,</span>
  </em>
  <span> or I’m doing it </span>
  <em>
    <span>right</span>
  </em>
  <span> and the entire design is </span>
  <em>
    <span>shit.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia pouted. From the inflections of Loki’s voice, she could tell he was getting genuinely worked up and angry; she had hoped they could build the cribs together and that it would be a wonderful thing to do, but she hadn’t counted on the instructions for the pieces of furniture being… absolute garbage. She probably should’ve predicted something like that and just let Tony call some guys in to build the cribs for them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>If her muscles hadn’t started getting sore from kneeling on the floor for so long, she probably could’ve been more help.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey… please don’t get angry,” Amelia sighed, pushing herself up into a sitting position, “maybe if you take a little break and come back to it, it’ll be more clear-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it </span>
  <em>
    <span>won’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>be more clear because whoever wrote these instructions is </span>
  <em>
    <span>useless!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki snapped loudly, causing Amelia to flinch, and he threw the paper booklet across the room, causing pages to tear out. Amelia gazed over at him wide-eyed, blinking a couple of times, and then frowned and threw a cushion at his head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If you’re gonna shout, shout into the cushion.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki caught it with ease and squeezed it hard in his grip. He rolled his eyes, “Fine.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With that, he pressed it to his face and screamed multiple, muffled expletives into the fabric; he peppered a few death threats towards the makers of the cribs between various swear words, and by the time he peeled the cushion away, his breathing was slightly laboured.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Better?” Amelia gently enquired.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Not really,” Loki sighed. He sulkily and pitifully crawled across the floor to pluck up the instruction manual and its missing pages before returning to the regrettable DIY project - which was hardly even a DIY project when all Loki had to do was put it together. Amelia reminded herself to never suggest going shopping at IKEA.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia laid back again, preparing for more irritable snapping from her husband, and rested her hand on her moderately large stomach, rubbing back and forth as she breathed out a sigh, “Your daddy is going to some lengths to make sure you have lovely cribs to sleep in,” she cooed down at her belly, unsure whether her unborn babies could actually hear her or not, but wanting to lighten the mood regardless.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki made a scoffing noise that was vaguely swathed in sarcasm, but his expression mostly radiated warmth at Amelia’s playful remark. He closed his eyes briefly, and then dropped the manual - more gently this time - and slithered across the floor towards Amelia. He sat down by the recliner and leaned over, pressing a kiss to Amelia’s stomach, something he would do on occasion that always filled Amelia with glee.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You hear that?” Loki murmured against her belly, “I’m having to decode those instructions like they’re some sort of cipher just so you have a place to sleep. You better be grateful.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia snorted, and then froze. She grabbed Loki suddenly by the shoulder as if reaching for a lifeline, and concern befell his features when he caught the shocked expression on Amelia’s face. “What? What is it?” Loki inquired.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you feel that?” Amelia whispered. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Feel what?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I… I think-” She felt the sensation again, a faint but </span>
  <em>
    <span>clear </span>
  </em>
  <span>flitter in her belly, which forced a gasp from her, “I think they’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>moving!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s mouth fell open in surprise. He moved his hand to Amelia’s belly and then pressed his ear to it as an afterthought, waiting - silent and still - to sense any sort of movement.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A beat passed, and then another, and just as Amelia thought the fluttering had ended, she felt it again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“There!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She practically screamed, a smile that couldn’t be diminished grew wide on her face, and a slew of overjoyed sounds escaped her mouth, “Do you feel it? Do you!?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki felt it. The ever so gentle quiver, it was barely there but he </span>
  <em>
    <span>felt it.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He quickly found that even after the vexing couple of hours he had had, there was nothing to stop the grin from spreading over his face. He chuckled and then he laughed, rubbing his cheek against his wife’s baby bump. “I do,” he murmured joyously, “I feel them.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think they heard you,” Amelia giggled, running her fingers through Loki’s hair, “say something else to them!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I- I…” Loki nuzzled Amelia’s stomach with his nose, “I love you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia felt the warmth of the moment encompass her, it had been a while since she’d wanted to cry from happiness, but there she was, blinking back the tears in her eyes as she basked in the precious moment.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They stayed there like that for some time, waiting for more movement and growing excited every time they felt even the slightest twitch. It was amazing how their unborn children had managed to completely flip Loki’s mood around from aggravation to elation. It was also probably a good thing, because when Loki eventually returned to working on the cribs and Amelia got a good look at the progress he had made so far, she noticed one glaring flaw that potentially was the reason behind Loki’s prior perplexity.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, Loki?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ve screwed the base edges in upside down. That’s why the instructions make no sense. There’s nowhere to place the wooden slats.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia bit her lip to hide the nervous smile that threatened to bubble up as Loki slowly looked over what he had done, glancing down to the manual and then back up at the misassembled crib. Instead of snapping in anger, like Amelia had expected, he simply laid down on the floor, face up with his eyes burning into the ceiling.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Amelia, please fetch the cushion for me.” His request was spoken in a shockingly calm tone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia made a move towards the puffy pillow he had thrown across the room earlier, “Do you need to scream into it again?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Loki responded bluntly, “I just want you to suffocate me with it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The next chapter will probably be shorter. The next chapter involves strangers touching Amelia's belly without her consent and how that is totally NOT OKAY. ;)</p>
<p>I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts on this chapter! Please leave your comments below! I read every single one and I love them! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Unwanted Contact</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Been feeling under the weather this week but hopefully I'll be feeling good again soon, in the meantime here is a short but sweet chapter. I hope you all enjoy it &lt;3</p>
<p>I'm gonna post a little less frequently because I'm currently writing for two fics at once like an absolute FOOL but I couldn't help myself!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki was quite disgruntled when Amelia revealed that she wanted to return to work, in fact, he tried to discourage her from it, reminding her that not only was she the princess of Asgard, she was also more than halfway through her pregnancy and shouldn’t have been working in the first place. Amelia was not swayed by his attempts to make her reconsider, and she enlightened him to the fact that some pregnant midgardian women worked all the way up to their due dates.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Ridiculous.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki absolutely did not approve, but Amelia was intent on putting herself to work one way or another. She felt she had been stuck to Loki’s side for too long since the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Eruk </span>
  </em>
  <span>incident, and that it was time she got over her fears of being apart from him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That did not mean Loki didn’t see her to and from the florist. He was hesitant to leave her for even a moment, but he knew he couldn’t exactly stand by her in the shop all day. It would be a little suspect, and the chances of being recognised would be increased. He swallowed any fears and agreed not to surveil her, even if it was difficult to willingly turn back without knowing exactly what situation she was in at any given moment.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia promised to call him the moment she needed him, if that moment arose.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She had been fine for a few days or so, but Loki noticed when he arrived at the florist to meet her after her shift later in the week that she seemed more and more withdrawn, not as chatty as usual, and it was practically a glaring change to what Loki expected.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When she stepped out of the shop upon finishing her last shift before the weekend, she didn’t smile when she greeted him, she kept her eyes squarely on the ground as they walked home to the Tower, and she clutched her coat tightly around herself, arms crossed over her chest. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her posture and walking gait indicated she was tense.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you cold?” Loki asked her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No. I’m fine.” Her response was cursory, and while she said she was okay, everything else about her seemed to indicate otherwise.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you tired?” Amelia had been walking a lot, and at this stage of her pregnancy it was normal for her to feel worn down. Loki had mentioned using Stark’s drivers for travelling, but Amelia was insistent on walking, claiming she needed to exercise and that staying active was important. It was true to an extent, but not when it began to negatively impact her energy levels.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” she repeated more sternly. Loki didn’t take her morose tone of voice personally.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Upon entering the Tower foyer, Loki laid a hand on her shoulder to stop her, catching the way she initially flinched before relaxing, and quietly spoke, “I would like to know what has upset you, Amelia.” If something had happened, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed </span>
  </em>
  <span>to know, because he would do everything in his power to rectify it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia sniffled, her eyebrows furrowed, “Not down here.” It was an admission that something </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>wrong, but that there was a time and place to discuss it; Loki nodded, squeezing her shoulder affectionately, and urged her to continue to the elevator.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It had to be something to do with her work, she was usually fine after she’d been home for a while, but it was clear to Loki that her mood was at its lowest point immediately when she left the florist. Whether it was something somebody had said or done, or whether it was something else, Loki would undoubtedly get to the bottom of it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Anybody who dared upset his wife would face the consequences. He would make sure of it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The elevator ride was quiet, but once they stepped out onto the communal floor, the noise of Thor’s naturally booming voice was drifting down the hall as he engaged in conversation with one of the other Avengers. It had been almost a month since Thor had come by, too caught up in his kingly duties to pop in for a visit, but it appeared he had indeed found a slow moment amidst the chaos.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Usually Amelia would be overjoyed to know that Thor had arrived, but Loki could tell from her face that she was more in the mood to seclude herself in their room and ride out the distress she was feeling before interacting with anybody else. At the same time, Thor’s visits were so infrequent that Amelia clearly didn’t want to miss the King of Asgard.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki followed Amelia to the lounge area where Thor was currently in the middle of regaling Stark and Banner with some whimsical story about their youth, as he loved to do, and the God of Thunder trailed off mid-sentence when they strode into the room. Immediately, Thor’s eyes lit up and he vaulted over the couch and approached with speed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Amelia!” He loudly exclaimed as he came to stand before her, and at once he pressed his hands to her ample belly, “They’ve grown so much since I was last here!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki watched the exchange carefully, noticing the not so subtle way Amelia completely stiffened. The distress on her face multiplied tenfold and he thought for a moment that she may have been in pain, until she released an unforeseen outburst.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Get </span>
  <em>
    <span>off!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia cried, pushing Thor away from her with all the strength she could muster; the force behind the push wasn’t what had the God stumbling back, however, that was owed more to the shock of Amelia screaming in his face for seemingly no reason. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki didn’t blame him, he was more than a little startled by Amelia’s reaction himself, his mouth hanging open as Amelia proceeded to spin around and press her face against his chest, her hands covering her ears. Loki’s arms enveloped her instinctually, cradling her against his body in a safe and secure embrace.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She was crying, he noted, from the muffled but audible sniffles and gasps escaping her, and Loki couldn’t help but dread the thought of what had caused her to become so upset that she would snap at Thor.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thor and the others were staring at him with concerned and dumbfounded looks, awaiting some sort of explanation, but Loki himself was clueless so he simply shook his head and rubbed Amelia’s back comfortingly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“People have been-” Amelia cut herself short with a shuddering breath and Loki waited patiently for her to be able to speak, a dark mist descending in his mind at the prospect of somebody having hurt her. “People… have been </span>
  <em>
    <span>touching </span>
  </em>
  <span>me…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Loki practically growled, his arms tightening ever so slightly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They’ve been touching me- my stomach,” she clarified, “they- they just come up and put their hands on me without even ask- asking.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thor’s expression melted into shame, he was quick to apologise, “Amelia, I’m am so sorry-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia shook her head and cut him off, “It’s not- it’s not you I’m mad at, Thor. I’m sorry. It’s stupid, I’m being stupid-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No.” Loki stepped back so that he could look Amelia in the eye. “It’s not stupid. Tell me who has been doing this and I </span>
  <em>
    <span>will </span>
  </em>
  <span>make them pay.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia rubbed her eyes with her forearm, shaking her head with a weary expression, “It’s just customers and coworkers… they weren’t trying to upset me, but…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What they were </span>
  <em>
    <span>trying </span>
  </em>
  <span>to do does not matter. They had no right to touch you without your permission. Tell me their names so I can </span>
  <em>
    <span>deal </span>
  </em>
  <span>with them.” He would have loved to have said he would kill them, but he had sworn off killing humans unless they truly, </span>
  <em>
    <span>truly </span>
  </em>
  <span>deserved it. In Loki’s eyes, anyone who touched his wife when she did not wish it deserved to be maimed at the very least, but the Avengers would not approve, and nor would Amelia for that matter. In this case, he would settle the score by scaring the wits out of them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It doesn’t matter anymore,” Amelia shook her head, “I quit my job. For good.” She sniffled, eyes dropping to the floor, looking very much like she felt sorry for herself.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was surprising to Loki, and he couldn’t have imagined it was an easy decision for Amelia to make, given that she had worked at the florist for some time and that tending to and arranging flowers was something she simply loved to do. She looked rather regretful of her choice, in a way, but Loki knew how strong she was, and as such he knew there must have been some other reason that led to her decision to quit her job as well as what had occurred that week.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As if reading his mind, Amelia murmured, “I heard the manager telling a coworker that the store wasn’t making enough money. They’re gonna shut it down in a couple months, so I figured I’d just quit now rather than be made redundant.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki squeezed Amelia’s shoulders, pulling her back in for another hug. “They never showed you the appreciation you deserve,” he told her, “we have our garden, and the palace gardens in Asgard. Your skills can be put to better use in places that actually matter.” Tending to their helipad garden always boosted Amelia’s spirits, and slight upturn in the corners of Amelia’s mouth proved that.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia nodded her head, rubbing her eyes one last time before turning to Thor with an apologetic smile, “I’m sorry for yelling at you, Thor.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t be,” the King of Asgard responded with a similar expression, “and it won’t happen again, Amelia. I’ll ask permission next time.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you.” Amelia was grateful for Thor’s understanding. “Let me, um, go get changed, and then we can sit down and chat. I have missed you.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki followed Amelia out of the room, waiting till they were out of earshot before speaking, “If any stranger touches you again without first obtaining consent, I will rip off their arm.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia giggled quietly, taking his hand and placing it against her warm belly, “You know, you’re the only one who doesn’t have to ask.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I truly appreciate every single one of you. Thank you for sticking by me as I continue to write this fic. I'm honestly looking forward to writing the chapter in which these babies are born. I think the next few chapters will have some time jumps, and then the birth chapter will be upon us! Loki is simultaneously excited and dreading it! </p>
<p>I'm planning for the next chapter to be explicit ;)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. A Million Things to Feel</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The pregnancy hormones are in full effect. Amelia is insatiable.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>OH MY GOD I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS. I wrote 3600+ words of smut in the span of 24 hours.</p>
<p>You wanted it, you get it. Here's some of the filthiest stuff I've ever written.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The pregnancy hormones were in </span>
  <em>
    <span>full </span>
  </em>
  <span>effect.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia’s emotions were unstable and constantly shifting, there was no telling what response a simple action or a few words would garner, and Loki figured he had to walk on eggshells to keep his wife happy in her current state.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was no rhyme or reason to Amelia’s emotional reaction sometimes, in one instance she started crying out of nowhere and when Loki asked her what was wrong, she spoke, barely coherent through her sobs, about how she loved him so much that it made her cry - full on bawling. He had to hold her for half an hour before she calmed down enough, and it seemed the moment she stopped crying, she was totally fine and went about her day as if she hadn’t just had a minor breakdown for such an unusual reason.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In another instance, Loki had complimented his wife when she had chosen to wear that loose purple sweater he loved to see her in. The words had been innocuous and meant as a praise, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“You look lovely today, Amelia.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia had managed to misinterpret it, </span>
  <em>
    <span>somehow.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean </span>
  <em>
    <span>today? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Don’t I look lovely </span>
  <em>
    <span>every </span>
  </em>
  <span>day?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki had initially thought she was joking around, because </span>
  <em>
    <span>of course</span>
  </em>
  <span> she looked lovely every day, he thought she was beautiful, and thus had snorted in response.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Big. Mistake.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>supposed to mean?” Amelia snapped, her arms folded over her chest as she glared down at him. Loki shifted from his reclined position on their bed and pushed himself up on his elbows upon hearing the indignation in her voice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” He mumbled, eyes wide.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I look lovely today, great, but the rest of the time I’m just ugly, is </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> it?” Amelia had hissed. She’d proceeded to give him the silent treatment. For two hours.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t Amelia’s fault, Loki reminded himself. Her hormones were fluctuating absurdly, leaving her mind utterly befuddled on what to do with the rush of emotions flooding her system.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In the end, Loki’s apology for the mishap had come in the shake of a tub of Amelia’s favourite ice cream, and that had kept her happy for the rest of the day.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The hormones had also affected Amelia’s libido. Ordinarily, they had sex several times a week, but one day, that suddenly hadn’t been enough for her, and they’re passionate couplings had become a daily thing. And then, it happened twice a day. Loki couldn’t complain - he very much had the stamina for it, but it reached the point where it interrupted his daily training routine and the occasional mission he had to partake in.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>On one occasion, upon arriving back at the Tower after a six-hour mission that involved retrieving stolen technology from a suspected terrorist group, Loki had been intent on heading straight for the shower to wash away the sweat, gunpowder and grime that had settled across his body. He had been intercepted on his way there by Amelia, who had latched onto him and stopped him in his tracks.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m glad your back, I missed you,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around him, seemingly unconcerned by what had to have been a very earthy and unappealing scent rising from him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I missed you too, but I need a shower,” he stated simply, gently prising her hands off so he could continue on his way to the bathroom.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I need </span>
  <em>
    <span>you,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia countered, clinging to his arm and making it very awkward for him to move while she was stuck to his side. He knew what she meant by those words, the ambiguity of the statement was wrecked when it was accompanied with the breathy voice, flushed face and lidded eyes that came along with it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“After I’ve showered,” Loki promised, and pressed on forwards towards the elevator.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t wait,” said Amelia, “please.” She did her best to get in his way and appeal to his sympathetic side, “I’ve needed you for </span>
  <em>
    <span>hours, </span>
  </em>
  <span>do you have any idea how hard it was for me to wait </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>long. Please, I need it </span>
  <em>
    <span>now.” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In a moment of boldness, Loki told her, “You have fingers,” and received a look from his wife that was so scandalised he wanted to laugh. To even </span>
  <em>
    <span>suggest </span>
  </em>
  <span>that she take care of herself instead of expecting Loki to be at her beck and call whenever her needy desires arose was simply too </span>
  <em>
    <span>preposterous </span>
  </em>
  <span>an idea.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not the saaaaaaaaame,” Amelia whined, calling upon the power of her pouty lips and doe eyes to try and convince Loki that it was in his best interest to assist her immediately. She was almost startled when he stopped so promptly after walking with strides full of so much conviction.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you want me to do? Drop my pants and fuck you right here in the hallway?” He inquired with a teasing tone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia peered down the hallway behind them and then looked up at the cameras in the ceiling, F.R.I.D.A.Y was always watching.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s a broom cupboard back there,” Amelia suggested hopefully.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki ended up compromising by fucking her in the shower, because Amelia’s patience was practically nonexistent when she was horny.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Today went slightly differently, though. Loki had already fucked her through two orgasms that morning before jumping into his regular training schedule, hoping that would be enough to suffice until the afternoon came around, but he should have learnt by then not to make any assumptions when it came to just how powerful his wife’s sex drive was.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>About an hour and a half into his sparring match with Steve Rogers - the next best opponent when his brother was not present - the elevator arrived on their level, and out walked Amelia, fidgeting with the threads at the hem of her jumper. It was clear she was only there for Loki, because Amelia never came down to interrupt anybody else during their training.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Loki, I need your help with something in the nursery,” Amelia called out, a tinge of urgency to her tone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Rogers stepped back out of courtesy, refusing to throw any punches while Loki was being drawn into conversation outside of the fight session - that was probably where he and Thor differed, because Thor would have taken great amusement in continuing to strike while Loki was distracted, declaring that he shouldn’t take his eyes off his opponent, not until a </span>
  <em>
    <span>proper </span>
  </em>
  <span>time-out was called.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you need help with?” Loki questioned, confused as to what needed to be done so vitally in the nursery they were in the process of decorating.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia stammered in her response, which was the first red flag, “It’s- I need help with… painting.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Painting?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That can wait till later,” Loki told her, turning back to Rogers to resume their training.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>wait till later. It needs to be done </span>
  <em>
    <span>now!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia nearly shrieked in return, fists clenched at her hips.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki sighed, glaring at Steve when an amused smile arose to his face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Looks like you better help your wife out before she bites you head off.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Reluctantly, Loki ended his sparring session and followed his wife out of the training room, into the elevator, and up to their floor, not saying much else until Amelia arrived at their supposed destination… and continued on past it towards their bedroom.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Amelia?” Loki grumbled questioningly, but a part of him already knew exactly why he’d been lured out of his training and back up to their bedroom.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Amelia peered over her shoulder, her expression was coy and there was a small smile on her face; Loki crossed his arms, giving his wife a stony look - </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>was what she interrupted his training session for.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You couldn’t have waited another hour?” Loki deadpanned, “How insatiable can you be?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia responded by stepping towards him, hips swaying as she did so, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. She pressed her hands to his chest, smoothing them down over his Asgardian leathers, and rose up on her tip-toes to whisper in his ear, “I need you, my prince.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki narrowed his eyes and tilted his head at the use of his title, “What do you need from me?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia caught his ear between her teeth, nibbling ever so gently.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think you know.” As she said the words, her hand slipped down to his crotch and squeezed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki let out a low growl, gave a subtle roll of his eyes, and within an instant lifted Amelia into his arms and carried her into their room. He kicked the door closed and dropped her in the centre of her bed, ignoring the string of giggles that left his wife’s throat; she immediately pulled her jumper over her head and unhooked her bra, throwing her clothes to the floor, and started shimmying out of her sweatpants.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How do you want me this time?” Loki’s voice was gravelly as he watched his wife shed her clothing and took in the creamy expanse of her skin. He crawled over her, still fully clothed, and lowered his head to lick and nip at her collarbone, making her shudder.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia moaned as she laid back, hands coming to rest above her head, “Mmm, however </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>want. After all, you are the prince, and I am just a lowly slave, completely at your command.” Her voice was breathy and suggestive, and Loki pulled back, staring at his wife with a furrowed brow. He examined her face, watching as her expression went from coquettish to sheepish to all-out embarrassed at his lack of reaction to her words.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I- I mean… well-” Amelia stammered, her cheeks growing red.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Where brought that on?” Loki asked curiously, referring to her role-playing attempt that had seemingly come out of left field.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I… I had a dream… a few weeks ago…” Amelia’s blush trailed down her neck to her chest, it was really quite adorable.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh? Do tell.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It- it was…” Amelia had suddenly turned overwhelmingly reticent, something that was highly unusual for her in a sexual situation, “a sex dream… I was your- um, well actually I’m not entirely sure, but, we weren’t… equal. I was your… servant, I suppose? And you were- you were…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki let his hand trail down Amelia’s side idly as she faltered repeatedly. “I was…?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You were… the King of Jotunheim! And you were in your frost giant form, and you fucked me and it was so good! And you were rough and a tiny bit callous, and you called me </span>
  <em>
    <span>little dove,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and I- I </span>
  <em>
    <span>liked </span>
  </em>
  <span>it!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki sat upright in shock, eyes wide as Amelia quickly covered her face and was blushing harder than ever, his mouth opened and closed several times as his mind failed to form a coherent reply to his wife’s admission.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“In… in my Jotun form?” He finally managed, nothing but incredulity making up his tone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Y-yes,” Amelia squeaked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was another long pause, the duration of which Amelia looked like she wanted a hole to open up and devour her from below, and then Loki quirked his head to the side.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright. I’ll entertain your fantasy.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia sputtered with disbelief, “R-really? You’ll fuck me in your Jotun form?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Absolutely not.” His unwavering tone caused Amelia to deflate somewhat, “But if you want me to be a cold, rough and callous prince who wishes to use you only for your body while you play the part of my obedient slave… I’m sure I can make that work.” His smile grew wicked, and Amelia could sense there were dark promises in the curl of his lips. She gave a whole body shudder, a soft noise of desperate want escaping her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll take that as a yes.” Loki’s resounding chuckle sounded positively malicious as he leaned down and darted his tongue out against her earlobe. “If you want me to stop, just say so, and I will.” It was the last endearing moment of her husband that Amelia visually and audibly received before it all melted away into something that was undoubtedly sinister.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With his palm pressed down against Amelia’s chest, holding her in place, he could feel her heart racing within her ribcage. Goosebumps broke out across her skin, and in her eyes Loki could see nothing but excitement and anticipation.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You have been </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>bad, haven’t you? Hmm? My willing slave…” Loki’s voice dropped in pitch, husky as he spoke, his words like a slithering snake. He was the god with the silvertongue - what a perfect opportunity to put it to good use. “You were supposed to wait for me to return, but here I am in my chambers, and you’ve started without me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia licked her lips and swallowed tightly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not allowed to touch yourself, slave. Your body belongs to me, only I have a say in when you are granted the privilege of feeling pleasure,” he paused to cup one of her breasts, massaging it lightly in his palm, her skin was always so soft to the touch, “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia’s mouth hung open and her lips flapped silently for a moment as she rushed to think of a response to fit the character she was playing, “I’m so sorry, my prince-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Call me master when you address me,” Loki demanded, swiftly cutting her off.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, master,” Amelia practically exhaled, “I- I just couldn’t wait any longer, I couldn’t stop thinking about you…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki shook his head, quietly tutting before pinching Amelia’s nipple - a little harder than he ordinarily would, which made her gasp - and he smirked, making certain to only filter malevolence into his expression instead of playful amusement.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You think the world revolves around </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>and your needs?” Loki asked, fingers trailing down to her stomach, where he let his nails dig ever so slightly into her skin as he proceeded to drag his hand all the way over the arch of her bump. “You need to exercise patience, slave,” his eyes narrowed, “perhaps I ought to give you a lesson in patience, if you’re struggling to comprehend the notion on your own? What do you think? Shall I leave you empty and wanting while I take </span>
  <em>
    <span>my </span>
  </em>
  <span>pleasure and watch you squirm?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia’s eyes widened at the implication that she would have to wait for pleasure - the exact thing she had been trying to avoid when she dragged Loki all the way up to their room under the guise of a lie.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, please, I’ll be good!” Amelia whimpered.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki lifted her leg and abruptly slapped the underside of her thigh, causing her to squeal. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Say that again,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki hissed, “but this time, remember your place.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia worried her lip between her teeth, realising her mistake, “I- I’ll be good, master.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki hummed, laying his hand flat over Amelia’s belly again, “They better be mine,” he sneered, and Amelia’s jaw dropped, “I hear you’re quite the palace whore, getting on your knees for every handsome guard you come across. Tell me, do you ever tire of spreading your legs for absolutely anybody?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia blinked quickly, seemingly at a loss with what to respond with. It was a yes or no question, but neither answers were very pleasant.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Master, you are the only one-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Lies.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki scoffed venomously, causing Amelia to flinch. She shut her lips tightly and Loki hummed again, directing his gaze southwards, he could see the slick leaking from Amelia’s entrance, informing him that despite his forceful and wicked manner, it was all very much leading to her arousal.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He inserted two fingers inside and began thrusting them in and out at a fast pace, almost knocking the breath from her lungs. The squelching noises were sinful, as was the string of whimpers and sobs escaping Amelia’s throat from the almost brutal ministrations he was suddenly subjecting her to. She was loving it. Her hands had come down to her sides and she’d grasped fistfuls of the sheets, eagerly parting her legs and lifting her hips to chase the pleasure.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She had grown so sensitive the past couple weeks, often reaching her peak incredibly quickly, and Loki had committed the build-up of her orgasm to memory. He knew exactly when her body was gearing up for release. It began with the flushed patches of pink skin, and then the tremors in her arms and legs, followed by the wailing noises that escaped her throat in </span>
  <em>
    <span>just </span>
  </em>
  <span>the right tonal inflection.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When she began taking quick, shallow breaths, that’s when Loki knew her body was about to seize up and reach climax.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He pulled his fingers out of her just before she could pour over the edge, and she gave a wrecked whine.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nooooo!” She cried petulantly, her hips collapsing to the bed again, though she continued to tremble, “I was so close!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki scowled at her, drawing out the silence with an unblinking gaze until Amelia had to avert her own eyes shamefully.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, master,” she whispered.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hm. So much for being my obedient slave. Perhaps you’ve forgotten, you’re here for </span>
  <em>
    <span>my </span>
  </em>
  <span>pleasure. I decide when you cum. Now, I had plans for you, but your consistent lack of compliance makes me think I should have picked another slave to warm my bed tonight…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia bit her lip, “Please, master, I’ll obey you- I’m yours to command! Anything you wish!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Anything </span>
  </em>
  <span>I wish, mm?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia nodded her head, breathing shakily through parted lips.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki let his wet fingers slip down past her entrance to brush over the pucker of her asshole, “And what about here? What if I wanted to fuck this tight little hole?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia stiffened, her eyes flashing with uncertainty. Loki could tell the answer was definitely </span>
  <em>
    <span>no, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but that she didn’t want to break character by denying him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki spared her the trouble, “Perhaps another time.” Amelia let out an audible breath and made a show of spreading her legs wider, she made an abortive movement to rub her clit but remembered quickly enough that doing so was off limits. She resorted to begging, her face red and flustered, eyes glossy with need.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Please, master…” Her voice was a breathless whisper, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m ready for you.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki had to admit her slick entrance looked incredibly inviting, he wasn’t so sure he could continue to deny her much longer. He wanted to sink himself in and feel the snug warmth hugging his cock, if he were to wait any longer, it would be simply torturous.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Quiet down, slave,” Loki commanded firmly when Amelia continued to plead for his cock. He was still fully clothed, and a part of him wanted to remain that way - there was something about Amelia being completely nude and him being completely covered that sent a pulse of need straight to his dick.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He gave in when Amelia gave him the most imploring look he had ever seen, and pushed down his trousers to pull his straining cock from its confines while he scoffed and shook his head, “It is truly remarkable how unquenchable your thirst is, but I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised,” he tilted his head, rubbing his tip against Amelia’s wet folds, “it is only normal that a mere mortal would throw themselves at me, begging to be taken by the powerful prince of Asgard… no one can resist </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> charm.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He thrust into Amelia and swallowed the groan that bubbled up into his throat while relishing the sounds his wife made. She shook at the welcomed intrusion and moaned as Loki pounded in with a fast pace, he would give her everything she wanted, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>more.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia cried out, incoherent words falling from her lips as Loki’s cock dragged against all the sensitive spots inside her, she gasped and keened and howled his name, and he did not let up, nor did he draw attention to the fact she had failed to call him </span>
  <em>
    <span>master. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She must have been too far gone to remember their role-play.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It mattered not, it was hardly the main event any more.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Very soon, Loki could feel that she was fastly approaching orgasm, and this time he granted it to her, a guttural sound rumbling from his throat as her soft walls tightened around him; Amelia’s mouth hung open in a silent scream as the powerful climax tore through her and left her quivering uncontrollably.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She twitched violently as Loki continued the brutal pace, squirming from the oversensitivity, and meekly whimpered, “S-slow down… Loki…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I want to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>certain </span>
  </em>
  <span>I leave you satisfied this time.” He had yet to break character, and Amelia’s eyes flew open, her hands gripping the pillow below her head to brace herself as Loki’s grasp tightened on her thighs. He fucked her hard through not two, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>three </span>
  </em>
  <span>orgasms before he let himself come. Instead of finishing inside her, he pulled out at the last moment and stroked himself as he fell over the edge, his seed spurting out all over Amelia - her stomach, her chest, even a few droplets reached her face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was an immeasurably pleasant sight to behold. Amelia was already wrecked from the unrelenting sex, already covered in her own juices, and now this - this was perfect. She lay boneless against the bed, her chest heaving with each breath, and Loki leant down to kiss the corner of her lips.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Did that live up to your fantasies, </span>
  <em>
    <span>little dove?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia let out a whine, wiping Loki’s seed from her cheek, “You-” her voice was raspy and raw from how loud she had gotten, “you almost got cum in my </span>
  <em>
    <span>eye.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki snorted, rolling his eyes. Did she not have anything to say about how hard he had ploughed her into the mattress?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” Loki spoke, “I wanted to mark what is </span>
  <em>
    <span>mine.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>OOH BABY. Tell me how I did, PLEASE! I worked so freakin' hard on this, I wanna know what you think!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Love is a Medicine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Amelia falls very ill very suddenly.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>No, Amelia does not have Covid-19, just so yah all know, but I felt inclined to write a little hurt/comfort by way of illness, so here ya are.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>It started with a measly sore throat one morning. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amelia resigned herself to the fact that she was bound to catch a cold at one point or another, it was December and the weather had gotten very cold, plus there was a lot of that sort of thing going around at that time of year. She’d probably caught it off somebody in Central Park, it was easy enough to walk past someone who was coughing or sneezing and not really think anything of it until it was too late, or she may have touched a surface that someone had left their germs on.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>No big deal, she thought. It was gonna suck, sure, but it would probably only last a few days and that was that.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>During the afternoon of the same day, Amelia sat on the sofa in the communal living room, cuddled to Loki’s side, with her feet up while she watched TV. At one point, upon deciding she wanted to flip the channel, Amelia chose to practise her borrowed magic and lift the television remote from the coffee table without having to get up from her comfy position to retrieve it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As it shifted slowly through the air towards her hand, a sudden throbbing pain began to seep into her head, and she abandoned the action to press her hand to her forehead and try to blink the pain away, flinching as the remote clattered against the hard floor.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hey,” Loki said gently as he caught the dazed look on Amelia’s face, “does your head hurt?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Mmmhmm,” Amelia groaned in reply, and was overcome by inexplicable tiredness, “think I wanna go to bed.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s one o’clock in the afternoon.” Loki responded lightly, a touch of amusement to his voice despite Amelia’s weary whining.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Don’t feel well,” Amelia croaked, her voice affected by the soreness in her throat, and leaned her head against his shoulder, “can you carry me?” Her muscles had been aching since she woke up that morning, and she couldn’t find the energy to drag herself and her two growing unborn babies all the way up to their bedroom on her own.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Amelia…” Loki sounded more concerned now, and tilted Amelia’s head back to get a better look at her face, “should I take you to the infirmary? You look terrible.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Thanks,” Amelia grumbled sarcastically, “my terrible face doesn’t need to go to the infirmary, it needs to go to bed. I’ll be fine after a nap.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Loki huffed, rolling his eyes as he stood up so he could lift his wife into his arms, “You know I didn’t mean it like that.” She still had a touch of moodiness in her, that much was obvious, but at least she wasn’t begging for sex every five minutes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Loki took Amelia to their room and she assured him that she would be fine napping by herself for a few hours and didn’t need him to watch over her constantly. After reminding her that she could speak to F.R.I.D.A.Y if she needed quick assistance, Loki left Amelia alone so she could rest up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She slept for the rest of the day, and didn’t even rouse until around eight o’clock in the evening when Loki’s worries began to build and he rubbed her arm, calling her name softly to wake her up. She was imminently entering her third trimester, and it was important that she ate enough food throughout the day to provide for the babies, but Amelia hadn’t eaten since midday.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It took a little coaxing, but Amelia finally blinked her eyes open and a whimper of protest escaped her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You need to have dinner, love,” Loki told her, his face creased with concern at how lacklustre she was, “are you feeling any better than earlier?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amelia opened her mouth to respond, but a slew of coughs that became progressively more violent as they continued erupted from her chest, so brutal that she shook with each one. Loki quickly moved her to sit upright and rubbed circles over her back, another hand on her upper arm keeping her steady.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“N-no,” Amelia rasped when the coughing subsided, “need to lie down.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, I’m taking you to the infirmary. This is worse than just a cold,” Loki insisted, picking her up once again like it was nothing, even as Amelia sobbed through another objection. She didn’t want to move, her head was pounding, she just wanted to sleep, but as Loki held her close, he knew taking her to see the doctor was the best decision.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Amelia, you’re hot.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Thanks, so are you,” Amelia slurred.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, I mean your skin is physically burning up. You have a fever,” he quickened his pace, speed-walking his way to the infirmary and cursing under his breath at the slowness of the elevator, “I’m not a doctor, but I know fevers are bad.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I just wanna sleep.” Amelia struggled to make herself comfortable upon resting her head against Loki’s shoulder - the constant up and down motion made it impossible for her to relax and let sleep take her. A sudden wheeze escaped her and Loki’s grip around her tightened.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Amelia?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Babies kicking,” she answered with a groan.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Loki nodded his head. “Good,” he said quietly.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Amelia did not have a cold. She had the <em> flu, </em>something Loki quickly learned was not to be taken lightly when diagnosed in pregnant women. She was given antiviral medication and fluids through an intravenous drip to aid in bringing down her fever and rehydrating her, but she turned her nose up at any food Loki attempted to feed her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Eat this, Amelia. It’s chicken soup, it’ll help you feel better,” Loki lifted the spoon to her lips, insistent when she turned her head, “you have to eat. You haven’t eaten since midday, it’s almost eleven o’clock at night. Just eat, okay? One bowl of soup.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amelia was propped up in the infirmary bed, her face mostly pale except for her red cheeks, still affected by the high temperature of her body. She blinked her eyes like her brain was reeling in her skull, groaning about the ache in her head, and kept her mouth tightly shut as Loki prodded the spoon against them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She shook her head lightly, turning away, “No… I want to sleep.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> “Amelia,” </em> Loki was beginning to lose patience, “I understand you don’t feel well, perhaps you aren’t feeling hungry, but that doesn’t mean you can’t eat. You have to, this isn’t debatable.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Throat hurts,” she responded, before covering her mouth to cough again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“If you don’t eat, you’ll feel worse,” Loki tried, “and if you eat, you’ll feel better. It’s that simple.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amelia drew in a shuddering breath, her eyes falling shut. She didn’t move her hand away from her mouth, a purposeful action to reject the chicken soup that had been brought to her. It was clear Loki needed to be a little more forceful, but it was necessary for Amelia’s health, even if it meant upsetting her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Loki lifted his free hand to rest on Amelia’s round stomach, “Amelia, this isn’t just for you. It’s for them too. Your body is weak enough from this infection, if you refuse to eat, you’ll get weaker, and…” he trailed off briefly, not wanting to even entertain the possibility of what could happen, “it could be really bad for them Amelia…”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amelia was quiet for a moment before blinking her bleary eyes open. She lifted her free hand and laid it atop his on her belly, her eyes scrunching up as moisture gathered in the corners, and she gasped as she sniffled, “I’m sorry…”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Will you eat? For them?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amelia made a soft noise of agreement, and Loki let out a breath of relief, once again scooping up a spoonful of the broth and lifting it to Amelia’s lips. She ate it this time, slow and small mouthfuls, and a few stray tears escaped her eyes, but she persisted until the bowl was empty.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well done, Amelia. Well done,” Loki praised, thankful she had finally cooperated. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Can I sleep now?” Amelia whispered, and Loki nodded his head, placing the empty bowl on the bedside table. He lowered the headboard so that Amelia was in a more comfortable position, and returned to his chair beside her bed, clutching her hand gently in his own.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He pushed her hair back behind her ear and pressed his knuckles to her forehead, the burn of her skin still very prevalent; Loki’s eyes rose to the vitals monitor to the left of the bed, her temperature had dropped a fraction of a degree, but it was still too high at 103.2 fahrenheit, and it didn’t seem to be dropping any lower.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Doctor Banner entered the infirmary a few moments later, coming in at just the right time to check up on Amelia, “How is she holding up?” Loki latched on to the clear tension in his voice - he too was worried, and that didn’t bode well.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You said this medication would bring her temperature down,” Loki practically hissed, <em> “why </em>isn’t it working?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Banner frowned, “We need to be patient. It should start to work more thoroughly soon.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Loki stood from his chair quickly, “Well I don’t <em> want </em> to wait. What if it gets <em> worse?” </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Banner shook his head subtly, looking back to the monitor, “What do you propose?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We need to try something else,” Loki stepped back to Amelia’s side, his fingers brushing her hand, and then he sighed, “I’m sure Inga would have something back at the palace in New Asgard. I can go to her and bring back something that would definitely help.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Banner seemed unsure of the idea, and that was how Loki knew it was what he <em> needed </em>to do, if the doctor was sure the medication would work, he would have insisted he stay and wait.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Don’t go…” Amelia piped up weakly. Loki had thought she was asleep, but it appeared she had heard the whole conversation. He frowned and took Amelia’s hand in both of his own, rubbing her skin softly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I won’t be long. I’ll bring back something that will help you. Just hang tight.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He didn’t want to leave her, not while she looked so fretful of the idea of him being away for an hour or so, but if it meant reversing Amelia’s debilitated condition, it had to be done. “Go to sleep,” he told her, eyes flicking to the doctor present in the room for a second, “Banner will stay with you until I return.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Loki kissed her forehead before departing.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>It hadn’t taken long to contact Heimdall and access the Bifrost, but it was quite unfortunate that Inga did not have the desired concoction ready to be taken when Loki arrived. It was a simple elixir in regards to the ingredients, but it took more than a while to brew it, <em> time </em>that Loki couldn’t put to waste.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Why don’t you have any already made?” Loki groused as he watched Inga work as quickly as possible.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s wintertime, my prince,” Inga responded tightly, “few people are in need of a potion that lowers one’s temperature while it’s snowing outside.” She didn’t falter as she spoke, quickly popping the components into her basin. “Why didn’t you just bring her to me? There’s far more I could do for her if she was <em> here.” </em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>“She’s in no condition to travel through the Bifrost. I didn’t want to make things worse for her,” Loki replied. He was grinding his teeth and shifting from one foot to the other, it was difficult to stand still when he knew Amelia was suffering back at Avengers Tower.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Time seemed to slow down as he waited. He became hyper aware of every small sound; from the noise of stirring liquid to clinking glass, and the echo of footsteps that eventually became subtly noticeable as the palace workers began to wake up bright and early for the day ahead. Light shone through the window; it was still the middle of the night back in Manhattan, Loki could feel the pull of sleep in the back of his mind. Usually he’d be cuddled up with Amelia fast asleep at this time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Every moment that ticked by was another step towards Amelia’s illness growing worse. Loki became more and more restless, pacing the room in silence, occasionally letting out an anxious sigh. Inga let him know that his constant moving around and impatient sighs were disturbing her focus and drawing the whole process out, to which he tried his hardest to stand still and shut the fuck up. Any other situation and Loki would have reminded Inga that she was talking to the prince and needed to show him respect, but there was too much at stake to spit back witty jibes, so he simply did as he was told.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>All in all, it took two hours.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Two hours. Amelia had been waiting for him for two long hours.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When he returned to the tower through the Bifrost, he sprinted up the stairwell and through the halls towards the infirmary, unwilling to let Amelia wait any second longer than she had to.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Upon rushing into the infirmary, he found Amelia hacking and coughing into her hand while Banner helped her sit upright to try and lessen the severity of each horrid choke. A glance at the machine monitoring her temperature revealed that it had not dropped, it was still in a dangerously high zone. It wouldn’t be for long.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m here, Amelia,” Loki exclaimed, rushing to her other side, and cupped her face, lifting her chin so he could see her eyes. She looked so tired, and her eyes were brimming with tears - probably from the force of continuously coughing up her lungs; she wheezed, gasping for breath when there was a moment of reprieve, and let out a pained, pitiful noise.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Loki could hear the rasp with each breath she took, and the way she cringed told him her throat was still very sore. Despite her ailments, she was filled with utter relief as she looked at him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Did you find something that would help?” Doctor Banner asked, and Loki nodded, pulling the vial of cool, blue liquid from the satchel hanging off his shoulder.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’ll be okay, Amelia,” Loki assured her, “this will do away with your fever, and Inga said it may soothe your throat too.” Inga wasn’t entirely sure how long the potion would work for, but she had instructed Loki to administer it whenever her temperature began to climb. Amelia only needed a sip, Inga told him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>With his hand on the back of her neck, he tilted her head back gently and brought the cooling draught to her lips. Amelia swallowed the small sip she was given, and Loki helped her lay back against the bed before corking the vial and placing it on the side table. He stood over Amelia, watching her closely as she blinked wearily up at him, and once again took her hand in his.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m sorry I was gone for so long,” he whispered, and she responded by squeezing his hand, “how are you feeling?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amelia let out a soft sigh and spoke, her voice a very light murmur, “My throat is a little better…”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Banner stayed present for the next ten minutes, watching the monitor as Amelia’s temperature slowly but surely showed a decline until it was out of the red zone, upon which he gave a sigh of relief, “It’s a good thing you retrieved that medicine from Asgard, Loki,” the doctor praised, “it should be enough to help her through the next few days, by which the antiviral drugs should’ve run their course.” He failed to restrain a yawn. “I’m going to get some sleep. If anything happens, tell F.R.I.D.A.Y to wake me up, I’ll be here like a shot.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Loki nodded and watched as Banner made a move to leave. “Wait,” Loki stopped him, and then tentatively said, “thanks for watching her.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Banner gave him a small smile, “Anytime.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After the doctor left, Loki pulled his chair in close to the bed and caressed Amelia’s cheek as she dozed. The potion appeared to have alleviated her need to cough every few minutes, which was great, because it meant she could sleep peacefully now. A glance at the clock revealed it had passed one o’clock in the morning. Sleepiness lingered in the back of Loki’s head, now that Amelia wasn’t in danger, he felt he could probably sleep too.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He drew back only briefly before he heard Amelia’s small voice break through the silence in the room, “Don’t leave again…”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m not,” Loki promised her, “I’m here, I’m not going anywhere.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’re not leaving?” Amelia struggled to lift her eyelids.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, I’m not going anywhere,” he repeated assuredly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I was so scared when you weren’t here.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Loki frowned, leaning down over the bed to press a light kiss to her lips, “I’m sorry, love, it won’t happen again. It’s going to be fine now.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The corners of Amelia’s mouth lifted in a weak smile, “You shouldn’t kiss me… you’ll get sick too.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I won’t. I’m immune to human illnesses,” Loki explained, “you’ll never see me sick.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Never?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Never,” Loki affirmed.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Amelia awoke to the sensation of burning. Her throat protested when she tried to make any sort of sound, too sore and painful for any words to escape her. Her body was hot. Too hot, far too ridiculously hot. For a moment she couldn’t remember where she was, and it wasn’t until she saw Loki sleeping in the chair at her bedside that she remembered she was in the infirmary.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She tried kicking off the thin blanket laid over her, but the muscles in her legs screamed when she tried to move them. Everything felt so heavy. She needed to cool down, she could feel that she was sweating, and a sudden kick in her stomach told her that one or both of her unborn children were just as uncomfortable as she was in that moment.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She tried to wake Loki, but ended up cringing in pain when she tried to speak. In the corner of her eye, she saw the icy blue liquid in the glass vial on her bedside, and immediately reached for it. Her arm felt like it weighed a tonne, but she forced the limb to obey, her fingers wriggling as she prodded the potion that sat just out of reach.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tears of discomfort rolled down Amelia’s face, the strain of pushing herself to attain the healing concoction would be worth it just as soon as she could imbibe a single drop. Her arm shook, fingertips brushing the vial again, and then it tipped suddenly, falling to the floor in a flash.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The resounding shatter woke Loki in an instant, startling him from his slumber, and his shocked gaze turned grave when he saw the contents of the bottle splattered on the floor. He looked to Amelia, to her outstretched arm, and then to the vitals monitor behind her before leaping to his feet.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A cry finally sounded from Amelia’s throat, full of agonised upset, “I’m so-sorry, I’m sorry-” she sobbed, feeling overwhelmingly like she’d done something terrible and that Loki was mad at her. Loki seemed to flail in place for a moment, weighing his options, and Amelia could tell that he was considering heading back to Asgard to retrieve another healing concoction from just the look in his dark green eyes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Don’t go,” Amelia whimpered. Her head was suddenly pounding as fear pulsed through her veins, “I don’t want you to leave again, pl-please…”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Shhh,” Loki hushed her, pressing his palm against her head to feel the intense heat radiating from her skin, and he cringed slightly before he raised his eyes to the ceiling. “Heimdall, can you hear me?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Heimdall was the cool guy in the golden armour that Amelia had seen briefly when she was last in Asgard, and Loki had explained to her that his powers allowed him to see <em> everything. </em>Amelia wondered if Heimdall could see them now.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I need you to ask Inga to make more of the cooling elixir, and to bring it here as soon as possible,” Loki requested firmly. Amelia heard only one side of the conversation, and as soon as Loki made the implication that he would not be leaving, Amelia let out an easing breath. It was, however, quickly interrupted by another slew of dreadful coughs.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Tell her to be quick, <em> please.” </em>Loki added, moving to lift Amelia into a sitting position, hoping it would alleviate the mucous in her throat. He gave all of his attention to Amelia, then, having signed off with Heimdall. “Shh, shh,” Loki murmured, rubbing his hand in circles on Amelia’s back, the other hand came to rest reassuringly on her stomach. It brought Amelia more than enough comfort, but her head lulled forwards, unable to hold it up from the pangs of aching within her skull.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How- how long?” Amelia rasped.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Not long, Amelia,” Loki responded, a waver of uncertainty in his voice, “Inga won’t waste a single second.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m… I’m too hot.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Loki was once again grinding his teeth, looking up to the vitals monitor which showed her temperature was a few decimals higher than it had been earlier that morning. The concoction had kept it low for a good five hours, if only it wasn’t now in a puddle on the floor, there were few other things that could be done to help soothe Amelia’s distress. Loki hated to see her suffer.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“F.R.I.D.A.Y, get Banner down here now,” Loki told the tower’s resident A.I, which adhered to his request. He would feel better with the doctor present, but that didn’t solve the question of how he was going to try and keep Amelia’s body cool until Inga arrived.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Lok… too hot…” Amelia whined again, quiet tears sprouting from her eyes, “head hurts…” She was barely coherent, the high temperature of her body making it difficult for her to think and even more difficult to speak; the thin blanket had been pulled back and all that covered her was an even thinner nightgown. It would’ve been a dream to douse herself in icy water at that moment.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Loki looked at her suddenly, a strange expression on his face. He looked at her with apprehension and discomfort, but with a sort of resignation to it, and then he sighed, lowering his head.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s okay, Amelia… I know what to do.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>For a moment, there was nothing, and then an unexpected chill seemed to come out of nowhere, filling the air around Amelia. She shivered reflexively, but it was simply wonderful to feel the cooling sensation from the air against her overheated skin, she didn’t care that she had no idea where it had come from.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And then she saw. Loki’s pale skin seeping into a dark sapphire blue, the lines upon his skin raising up as he transformed into his birth form. He lifted her then, mindful of the IV in her arm, and slipped into the bed behind her so she could recline against his chest and be enveloped in the chilled embrace. Amelia naturally tensed at the cold, but felt herself sinking into it gradually, a moan of placation escaping her lips.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Loki’s arms held her flush against him, one palm pressing to her forehead, the other gripping her hand; Amelia pressed her burning cheek to his chest, the iciness of his skin through the fabric of his shirt feeling <em> heavenly </em>against her face, and practically melted in his arms.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Thank… you…” Amelia whispered, enjoying the soothing cuddle. She knew how uncomfortable it made him to transform, especially outside of their bedroom or anywhere he knew they would have privacy. He was vulnerable here, because anyone could burst into the infirmary at any moment, and given that he had called for Bruce shortly before, it was highly likely it would happen.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And yet, Loki stayed there, providing Amelia with a well-needed chill. He was her hero.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amelia dragged Loki’s hand down to her stomach, pressing it there just as she felt the telltale signs of movement. It wasn’t as hard as a kick, which made Amelia think that perhaps the babies were reaching back, seeking out that lovely glacial cold - she didn’t know if her near-delirious mind was just thinking up adorable visions to mollify herself with, but she chose to believe it was true.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Loki could no doubt feel them moving, too. His palm brushed over her belly with a tender, loving touch; Amelia wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, but they were eventually interrupted as a set of footsteps bounded down the outside hall.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Loki tensed. Bruce entered in a rush, and then froze - <em> figuratively, not literally </em>- at the sight of Loki’s alternate form. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Amelia remembered Loki telling her once that she was the only one, save for Odin, who had ever seen him in his Jotun form, and now that was no longer so. Bruce, however, seemed to snap out of it very quickly - it was inherent to his character that he would be one to fully understand Loki’s perturbation at having somebody stare upon a form he hated so much, after all, Bruce was <em> the Hulk, </em>so it only stood to reason.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“What happened?” Bruce inquired. He’d probably been woken from his sleep so precipitously that his mind was still lagging just a bit.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“The vial smashed,” Loki pointed out, “I contacted Heimdall so that more could be made, but this is the only way to lower her temp-”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Another interruption, Loki grew even more rigid as another pair of footsteps sounded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Thor and Inga burst into the room. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>After a brief pause to observe Loki’s unfamiliar form, Inga went immediately into healer-mode, she stepped forward, procuring a fresh vial of icy blue liquid from the pocket of her robe, “You are <em> so </em>lucky I brewed enough for a whole batch when you came to me this morning,” the woman declared, uncorking the lid and lifting the potion to Amelia’s lips so she could sip at it, “or I may not have arrived for another two hours.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The relief was almost immediate. The liquid coated her throat, lessening the soreness and the urge to cough, keeping her cool from the inside out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Thor had yet to say anything, but Amelia knew all would be well with him. It was just a surprise to see Loki like this for the first time, and she wanted so badly to remind her husband of that, because she was sure Loki probably thought everybody present was staring at him in disgust. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>In just a few minutes, Amelia was already feeling better, eyelids growing heavy as she fought to stay conscious. It had been a long night for everybody involved, and Amelia had already decided she wasn’t gonna reach so carelessly for that life-saving potion again, not with her curse of clumsiness.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When Loki finally slipped out from below Amelia, laying her gently back against the soft pillow, he sent Thor an irritable glare. “What’re you looking at, Thor?” he asked with a dash of venom in his voice, red eyes pinned on the other. The Asgardian king had not stopped staring at him, and it was clear this vexed Loki greatly.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After a pause, Thor’s brow unfurrowed and he offered a small smile, “Nothing, brother.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Loki just looked away, pulling his seat back up to Amelia’s bed so he could stay close as he waited for his blue form to fade away, but Amelia knew just how meaningful Thor’s simple response really was to her husband.</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Also, that one line about Loki being so sure Amelia would never see him falling ill is definitely foreshadowing a future chapter later down the road OR a oneshot in and of itself where Loki does, in fact, fall ill. ;)</p>
<p>So, I'm planning on writing maybe one more chapter before the big day where the babies are born!!! I might have to ask you to be patient though, as it might be a couple weeks before I'm able to post it. I've been feeling inclined to put a chunk of my free time to doing stress-reducing things like playing Animal Crossing instead of dedicating my entire day to writing lmao. Don't get me wrong, I adore writing this fic, but obviously all work and no play makes Kumikoseph a sad girl :')</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Unanticipated Chaos</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry it took a while to have this chapter out! I hope you all enjoy it ;) </p>
<p>There's quite a significant time jump between the last chapter and this one, just fyi!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was still very cold at the end of January, which was why it was lucky the huge bedroom in New Asgard had a large fireplace, just for such occasions when the weather was still very deep into the season of Winter. Amelia was particularly looking forward to cuddling Loki in the comfort of their bed that night, while the fire kept the room around them pleasantly heated.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll just use magic to light it,” Loki spoke idly as Amelia made a move towards the bed, wanting desperately to slip below the covers and trap the warmth to her body, but she stopped short, looking curiously back over her shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ooh, can I try lighting it?” She was always looking for a good reason to utilise the magical energy that ran freely throughout her body.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Loki replied in a no-nonsense voice as he knelt down by the hearth to throw a few chopped logs in.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh,” Amelia sighed, padding over to the bed, “you never let me use magic.” The whine in her voice carried, and Loki subtly rolled his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Because magic isn’t a toy,” Loki reminded her, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“especially </span>
  </em>
  <span>fire magic. It’s dangerous. Plus, you are heavily pregnant and I don’t want to risk you making a mistake and causing chaos.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You like chaos, though.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I like when </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>am causing chaos, not so much when anybody else is having a go.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia smiled, climbing onto the large four-poster bed with a slight groan due to the effort of lugging her enormous belly around. In exactly two weeks, the babies were due to arrive, and Amelia had to admit, it would be absolutely wonderful to finally be able to move freely again instead of having to waddle from place to place and holding onto Loki’s arm when descending or ascending stairs. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, just wait, soon enough there might be two littles ones running around who </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>causing chaos-</span>
  <em>
    <span> oof…” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia winced, causing Loki’s head to shoot up, his nervous gaze following her every move.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you…?” He inquired tentatively.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m perfectly fine,” Amelia gave a huff of a laugh, finding it more than a little endearing that Loki went into worrier mode every time she felt the slightest discomfort, “it’s just- I think one of them just decided to jam their elbow right into my bladder, so, um, be right back.” She walked awkwardly to the adjoined bathroom, trying not to wet herself as she went.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That was another thing she was going to be thankful for - the lack of tiny but fierce limbs being shoved into all her internal organs like they were having a damn party in there.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Amelia returned to the bedroom, it was pleasantly warm and heating up fast, but she knew it would be toastier still below the covers. Loki was sat on the bed with his eyes closed in light meditation - it was something he’d been doing a lot recently and Amelia believed it was due to the fact that as her due date approached, her husband’s nervousness grew more and more.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia was just as nervous. The two of them had read many books and even taken a few prenatal classes to better acquaint themselves with how to best care for their children, but everything always sounded simple in theory. When it came to the practical side of things, Amelia was expecting it wouldn’t be so easy. She had already come to terms with the fact that she would suffer through many sleepless nights to constantly be there for her babies, and that there would be times where she would feel like she was going through hell, but so long as Loki was there by her side and they took on the challenge together, Amelia was confident they could succeed and be great parents.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She crawled onto the bed and brushed her hand against Loki’s upper arm, to which he smiled and covered it with his own. Loki leaned over and gave Amelia a tender kiss before nuzzling his nose against her cheek, “The gift gala is tomorrow at noon, so we’re free to sleep in or if you’re feeling up to it, we can walk to the library. Whatever you want to do… tomorrow is about you and our children, after all.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmm, I’ll see how I feel in the morning. I’m kind of nervous,” Amelia replied, letting herself slump against him till her head was resting on his shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you nervous about?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Being the centre of attention in Asgard, duh.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why is that so nerve-wracking?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s alright for you, princey boy, you’ve been doing this all your life. I’m still new to this </span>
  <em>
    <span>princess</span>
  </em>
  <span> thing. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it,” Amelia said with a light sigh, “what am I going to have to do, anyway?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki laughed softly, “You’re supposed to be excited about tomorrow, not dreading it. You don’t have to </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>anything apart from smile and thank the guests when they present you with a gift.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t like-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t like when people get you gifts, yes, I know. Most of the gifts will be for the </span>
  <em>
    <span>children, </span>
  </em>
  <span>though, so imagine you’re thanking the guest on behalf of them,” Loki tapped Amelia’s bump fondly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia sighed and smiled, “I suppose I can do that.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A silence fell upon them for a few peaceful minutes, and then Amelia drew in a shaky breath, “I’m really nervous about… about giving birth,” her voice was but a murmur, “-it sounds really scary. I’m worried it’ll be a long and painful process…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki shifted, tilting his head to look down at her. He gathered her up in his arms, holding her in a gentle embrace, “You needn’t worry. I will be by your side the entire time. Inga has delivered babies before, she’ll know what to do, and she’ll have pain-relief tonics for you. Just think, once it’s over, you’ll be able to look upon the faces of our children and the hassle will be entirely worth it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia grinned, sinking against him as she relaxed, “That is very, very true.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Whatever happens, I know you’re strong enough to get through it. I won’t let anything happen to you, or to them.” Loki’s promise was soothing, and Amelia believed his words completely.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was easy to fall asleep snuggled in Loki’s arms, especially when he settled her fears with the sound of his voice. The warmth of the fire and the softness of the bedding carried her into sweet dreams while the cold winds swept by outside the windows.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia was woken in the morning by a sharp tightening feeling in her stomach. “Agh! Fuck,” she exclaimed, wincing when she tried to push herself up and felt a spike of pain in her lower back. She groaned as the pain in her abdomen persisted for a moment before fading away and let out a sigh.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki roused at the sound of her discomfort, “Love?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” Amelia was quick to assure him. It wasn’t the first time she’d felt the pinch of pain in her abdomen, similar to the feeling of cramps, and Inga had explained that it was a normal sensation that she could feel up to a few weeks before giving birth. There was no reason to panic, and the last thing she wanted was for her husband to worry. “Just usual pains and stuff.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki rubbed her stomach, as he always did when Amelia was experiencing discomfort, and pressed a kiss to her shoulder gingerly, “Do you want to go back to sleep, or do you want breakfast?” He blinked lazily as he spoke, still in the process of waking up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia smiled, “How long do we have?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki leaned over to glance towards the windows, supposedly gauging the time from how much light was pouring into the room, “Mm, maybe three hours?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I wanna have a bath. Then breakfast. Then we can go to the library?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki glanced her over, tilting an eyebrow curiously, “You seem in a rush to be up and about, are you sure you have enough energy? You don’t want to sleep some more?” His soft concern was endearing, and Amelia appreciated his urge to double check, given she wasn’t always great at measuring her own energy levels, but today she felt surprisingly spry and wanted to wander the palace in search for something fun to do before the gala at noon.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sure,” she smiled, “I can handle it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s this book about?” Amelia picked out a worn book bound with red leather, the title of which she could not read as it was written with Norse runic symbols; she traced her fingers over the lettering curiously. The intricate inking on the spine of the book had caught her eye, it was quite fascinating to learn about where all the publications had come from given they were all hundreds of years old. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki had told her before that the library in New Asgard was only a fraction of the size it had been in the palace of the original realm, as only a small percentage of the works were saved before Asgard’s destruction. Amelia had found it somewhat amusing that the first instinct of the fleeing Asgardians had been to rescue the books, but the more she learned, the more she understood just how much sense it made. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Knowledge is power,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she thought.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a non-fictional study by Oyvind Somerled on draugr,” Loki explained as he peered over Amelia’s shoulder, his hands resting on her waist securely. He hovered close to her at all times and told her it was because of how clumsy she could be - Amelia couldn’t afford to be clumsy this late into her pregnancy - not that Amelia complained. Any opportunity to be close to Loki was an opportunity she gladly seized. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Draugr? What’s that?” Amelia felt she had heard the word before, but couldn’t recall exactly what it was.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re monsters. Reanimated corpses, cursed warriors who have died and come back. They have rotting skin and glowing eyes and aspire to guard their treasures,” Loki spoke with an unfitting smile on his face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ugh. Gross. So they’re like zombies?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Essentially.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s disgusting. You’re not telling me they’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>real?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki raised an eyebrow, “It’s a non-fictional study…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up, they’re not real,” Amelia gulped, “Right? They’re not… this is made up…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki continued to stare at her and repeated himself, “Non-fictional study.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Stop.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia laughed, and then bit her lip nervously, “They’re not real on </span>
  <em>
    <span>Earth,</span>
  </em>
  <span> right?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki plucked the book from her hands and opened it up to an illustrated page, showing a scratchy sketch with faded ink of a very unfriendly looking draugr, his flesh literally hanging from his body, ribs visible below his paper-thin skin.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They better fucking not be real on Earth,” Amelia murmured, eyeing the drawing with heavy disdain.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Who knows?” Loki said teasingly, and Amelia proceeded to give him a wary look till he grinned, flipping through another few pages, “They do not manifest in Midgard, don’t worry. Anyway, if they </span>
  <em>
    <span>did, </span>
  </em>
  <span>I would certainly keep you safe.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His promise filled Amelia with warmth, and she watched as he stepped away and raised the book to slot it back into place on the shelf. Before he could do so, Amelia felt the same pinch in her abdomen that woke her up that morning, and buckled over in pain, grabbing onto one of the shelves so that she didn’t tumble to her knees.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s entire attention was immediately on his wife, and he paid no mind as the book fell from his hands and lay forgotten on the floor in a heap while he fussed over Amelia, checking she was alright.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m okay- I’m okay,” Amelia sighed, taking a few breaths to steady herself, and leaned against Loki as he lifted and guided her to the closest chair before kneeling in front of her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you need Inga?” He asked, glancing down at Amelia’s hand that was placed on her belly, “I don’t think this pain is normal- should I-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay,” Amelia breathed, “It’s normal, don’t worry. Inga said this would happen. The pain isn’t lingering… it’s just my body getting ready and preparing for the next couple weeks, y’know?” She managed a smile as the pinching eased, but the furrow in Loki’s brow did not change.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Excuse me?” A sharp voice came from around the side of the bookcase, and both Amelia and Loki looked up to see the disgruntled librarian woman who was looking down at the old book Loki had carelessly dropped. “My prince, I should expect you to take better care of our books,” she sternly scolded.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” it was Amelia who spoke up, feeling that she was partly to blame.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it was my fault,” Loki clarified, “I’m the one who dropped it. I apologise, but I had to assist my wife,” his apology was dismissive, he didn’t even look at the woman as his concerned gaze was still on Amelia’s face, searching for any more hints that she was in pain.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The librarian looked down at Loki with disappointment in the same way a teacher might stare down at a student who had not done their homework, “Honestly, prince. Once upon a time, you showed these books so much care,” she sighed as she bent over and picked the book up, and seemed to realise that Loki wasn’t really paying her any attention. She looked at Amelia, her lips curling ever so slightly into an almost knowing smile, “But I guess our priorities do change as time goes on.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia found the librarian’s observation to be very sweet, and shifted forward in her chair to embrace her husband. Loki welcomed the affection, to which Amelia grinned into his shoulder; at the beginning of their relationship, Loki had hated the thought of showing even a dash of affection in public, but here he was now.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was definitely ready for fatherhood.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The gala took place in the throne room, and to Amelia’s dismay, she was the centre of attention. She found herself seated in a fancy looking chair at the base of the steps leading up to Thor’s throne, while Loki stood at her side, the both of them dressed in their finest clothes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The dress had been made by Signy yet again, and it was sewn to her new measurements, taking the baby bump into account. It was beautiful and comfortable, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>somehow </span>
  </em>
  <span>still made her feel fabulous despite the huge belly in front of her - it was a nice change of pace after spending so long in maternity pants.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>All the nobles and upper class were present, ready to offer the gifts they had brought for the yet-to-be-born prince and princess, there was a bustling excitement in the room as the guests ate and drank and murmured amongst themselves.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia gave a deep sigh, feeling a little bit nauseous, probably from her nerves, but it must have been loud enough for Loki to lean down and ask if she was well. He was still a little apprehensive about the pains Amelia had been experiencing, and was a little put off when he realised Inga wasn’t going to be present for the first half of the gala. The healer unfortunately had patients in the infirmary that required her aid, so she wasn’t going to be there for another half hour.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” Amelia whispered back to her husband, “I think I just need more water.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki immediately signalled one of the servants who was carrying a pitcher, and the man approached at once, refilling her cup. Amelia thanked the servant quietly and took a sip, noting that the hand lifting the cup was shaking ever so slightly. The crampy pains in her abdomen were present again, but they were mild, and Amelia figured she could probably push through it - it wasn’t the worst pain she had ever felt, after all.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s hand rested on her shoulder, rubbing gently and soothingly, he could sense her discomfort.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia left herself drift in and out of focus, not paying much attention to the clamour of speaking guests at the rows of tables before her, and picked at the grapes on the small table beside her, and before long the King rose and addressed everybody in the room with his booming voice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If everybody who has a gift to offer could form an orderly line, we can commence with the gift-giving.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia felt a spike of anxiety in the pit of her stomach, and she wondered briefly if the babies could also sense her nerves. Amelia had felt a little restlessness from them as they shuffled around inside her, like they were struggling to get comfortable - she couldn’t help but think that she was to blame and that they were empathetically sharing her distress.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She rubbed her stomach reflexively, and Loki’s hand on her shoulder squeezed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The gift-giving portion of the celebrations began, and Amelia forced herself to pay attention to the people who offered presents for her babies, thanking them softly with a nod of her head as Loki had told her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>One by one, each guest introduced themselves, who they were, what their title was, and what they had brought to bestow upon her. Amelia gave her best smile to each of them as the gifts piled up - a tiny matching set of royal dresses, hand-made toys, minute socks and shoes, and some more general gifts like carved soaps or vials of sweet perfumes and oils.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They were all welcomed gifts, and Amelia was grateful for each and every one, thanking the givers profusely, and then eventually a noble woman who introduced herself as Kjellfrid offered up an ornately carved box, the contents of which were two silver circlets for each of her babies. They were beautiful and delicately made, but the thought of two newborn children wearing them just seemed a little silly to Amelia.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Perhaps it was how things went in Asgard, though. Amelia imagined the babies would not find them at all comfortable, and they definitely wouldn’t be wearing them for long at a time if they had to.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nevertheless, Amelia forced a smile and said her necessary thank-you for the gift. The woman looked awfully happy with herself, smug even, like she thought she had offered up the best gift out of everybody there. If only she knew.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The next guest stepped up and opened their mouth to introduce themselves, but they didn’t have time to speak before the cramps in Amelia’s abdomen got a whole lot more painful very suddenly, and she gasped, leaning over in her chair as she held her stomach.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Amelia?” Loki bent down at her side, waving the guest away quickly to give her space. It took Amelia more than a moment to respond, which perturbed Loki more so than usual.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It… it hurts,” Amelia sucked in air through her gritted teeth, aware that all eyes in the throne room were on her, which didn’t exactly help matters, “more than before.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The pain wasn’t letting up after a few moments like it had been before, her breaths were coming faster and she winced as it hit again, letting out a pained whine. At the back of her mind she felt dreadfully embarrassed thanks to all the people staring at her, but at the same time she didn’t care, she just wanted the pain to pass.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thor descended the steps quickly, “What is going on?” His voice was peppered with concern.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We need Inga,” Loki told him shakily, to which the king proceeded to order a couple of servants to fetch the healer in an urgent manner.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Another pain wracked through Amelia’s abdomen, causing her to cry out, and then there was a dropping feeling, like something was shifting inside her, “Oh god, Loki-” she grabbed his hand like a lifeline, “Loki, Loki-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m right here,” her husband told her, barely restraining the anxiety in his voice, “Inga’s coming. What do you need?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Loki, I- I think… I think it might be happening.” Amelia stammered breathlessly, her instincts telling her that her children didn’t want to wait another two weeks like they were supposed to.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s face went pale, his mouth opening and closing a few times silently, before he hurriedly spoke, “They’re not supposed to come for another two weeks!” He mirrored her thoughts, and Amelia groaned as another wave of pain fluttered through her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Loki, I think you should tell that to </span>
  <em>
    <span>them.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>IT'S HAPPENING. OH GOD IT'S HAPPENING. IT'S BEEN 84 YEARS AND NOW IT'S HAPPENING. WOOOOOOOOO BOY!!!</p>
<p>The twins clearly didn't get the memo of their due date!</p>
<p>WHO'S EXCITED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!? It shouldn't be as long for me to update this time cause I'll be going straight to begin the next chapter in the next couple of days ;)</p>
<p>LEMME HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Of All The Things My Hands Have Held</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Amelia's gone into labour. It's just a matter of time.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>GUYS IT'S THE MOMENT EVERYONE HAS BEEN WAITING FOR!!! </p>
<p>This is no doubt the most anticipated chapter of this whole fic. I hope I've done it justice and I hope everybody enjoys it.</p>
<p>Thank you for your patience, everybody ;)</p>
<p>Few things to note: I have never been pregnant or given birth, so everything I write here is from a result of me researching what I can via the internet, people's experiences and my friend's reliable knowledge of childbirth. So if you see anything that seems unrealistic, know that I tried to make this realistic, and that I wanted to avoid all the cliche stuff you see in media because half the time that stuff is not realistic in the slightest xD</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki had been hoping the two weeks remaining until Amelia’s due date arrived would offer him time to build courage for the approaching day, but he had not accounted for the fact that </span>
  <em>
    <span>sometimes, </span>
  </em>
  <span>babies wanted to be born just a little bit earlier.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He did not want to admit that he was scared, that his nerves were shot, especially not while his wife was the one currently looking as pale as a sheet and heaving laboured breaths in an attempt to calm herself. He had to be strong and fearless in Amelia’s presence for her sake, because he knew that any uncertainty on his part would mean ten times the anxiety for Amelia.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He and Amelia had been taken to a special branch of the infirmary - a royal suite of sorts that included the softest bed, and floral decor that was meant as a calming aid - and the latter was now lying on the bed after having changed into an infirmary gown, her hands resting on her bump and her eyes resting on the ceiling. Loki thought perhaps she was trying to distract herself from the occasional pains by counting the many golden painted swirls above. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Inga had rushed to examine Amelia as soon as she heard of the commotion and had concluded that she had entered established labour, meaning it was no false alarm - it was really happening and there was no time for Loki to process this.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia wasn’t in a talkative mood, as every time Loki tried to comfort her, she would cut him off swiftly with a snappy </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘yes, I know, I know’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>but Loki supposed he couldn’t blame her for not being a chatterbox while she was dealing with the currently infrequent contraction pains. From what he had read, they could be quite painful, and would only get worse as the labour progressed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was dreading what was to come. The average labour time was eight hours. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Eight. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It was awful to see Amelia in pain, and he couldn’t think of anything he could say to soothe her. He’d known the birth wasn’t going to be a breeze, but there was a difference between believing everything would be fine and that Amelia would go through it like a champ, and actually being there in front of her and witnessing her pained flinches and moans as her body prepared itself for the imminent event.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>At the very least, Inga’s team of nurses were doing everything to make Amelia as comfortable as possible, from fluffing up her pillows to coaching her through breathing exercises. Loki had imagined he would be very useful when it came to soothing Amelia’s anxiety during labour, but here he was, completely and utterly useless.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He sat in the chair beside the bed, stewing in his own worries. It felt like there was a weight on his chest making it difficult for him to breathe; it was a very real possibility that this time tomorrow, his two children would be born and he’d be able to hold them in his arms, and that was if they were lucky. Some labours went on for days. He couldn’t imagine Amelia pushing through that, he didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>want </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia to have to endure for that long. She’d carried the babies for nine months as they grew, and it hadn’t been easy. The least fate could afford them was an easy birth.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Beyond that, Loki couldn’t stop the burrowing thought in his head that his children would be blue-skinned and red-eyed. He didn’t know what he would do or how he would react if that were to happen. Amelia said she would love them no matter what, but what if- what if?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki hated to think about the ‘what ifs’, because whenever he did, he pictured the worst case scenario. His thoughts of doubt led to thoughts of guilt. He shouldn’t have been questioning Amelia’s unconditional love for her children. Did it make </span>
  <em>
    <span>him </span>
  </em>
  <span>a bad person to think that Amelia could possibly reject her babies?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re four centimetres dilated, Amelia. You’ll need to be ten centimetres dilated before the birthing process can begin, and that could take anywhere from hours to days. At the moment, your contractions seem to be around thirty minutes apart and lasting about half a minute each time. How is the pain?” Inga inquired, resting her hand on Amelia’s arm, “I’d prefer not to give you a pain relief concoction until a little later into labour, as you may end up needing more, and too much can interfere with the birthing process, but if the pain is unbearable, we can still use it sparingly.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia blinked, taking a deep breath before nodding, “I’m okay at the moment. I can handle it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Inga nodded her head, offering a comforting smile, “Good. You’re doing fine so far. Remember, if you need anything, just ask. I’ll be here monitoring your progress regularly so we can keep track of how dilated you are.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki was surprised by Amelia’s decision to turn pain relief away, he had thought she would want it given how distressed she appeared to be; it filled him with unease to see her so vulnerable. He turned to Inga, eyebrows furrowed, “Do you know how long this will take?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Inga quirked an eyebrow, looking far from amused, “This is not something that can be rushed, prince. As I said, it can take anywhere from hours to days.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Amelia can’t handle this for </span>
  <em>
    <span>days-” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki was interrupted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can if I have to!” Amelia snapped, drawing his attention. She almost looked insulted that Loki had spoken for her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I just- I’m worried for you, Amelia,” Loki admitted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia gave an audible sigh, shaking her head as she subconsciously rubbed her belly; Loki simply couldn’t decipher what his wife’s reaction was supposed to mean. She was acting weirdly cryptic at the worst possible time, and Loki found himself feeling that Amelia wanted some space.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Biting his lip, Loki cleared his throat, “Are you- do you need anything to eat?” He needed a reason to leave the room for a little while.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Amelia shook her head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you need anything to drink?” Loki tried again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I’m fine,” was Amelia’s curt response, “I have water.” Indeed, there was a pitcher and a cup on the nearby table.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki stood from his seat, oscillating for a moment as he wondered if leaving Amelia’s side was a good idea, before making up his mind, “I need to- go outside for a moment.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Amelia looked away from the ceiling to pin him with a look of incredulity, “Why? Where are you going?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki couldn’t quite bring himself to look her in the eyes, “Just out. For a moment. I’ll be back soon, I need some air.” He quickly walked around the bed and headed for the door, catching the disapproving stare from Inga as he went, and heard Amelia mutter under her breath before he left.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>need some air, do you?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki felt guilty for walking out on Amelia, but he really had needed some air. The atmosphere in the infirmary suite was thick and difficult to breathe, and on top of that, he definitely felt as though his presence had been nothing but irritating for Amelia, given how she had reacted to him. He wasn’t proud of his urge to escape, but it hadn’t felt right to stay put and continue having a silent struggle with his anxiety.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He stood now on a large open balcony, breathing in the crisp winter air which was much more his style, inhaling deep steadying breaths to try and control his fears. With one hand gripping the balcony railing, he used the other to drag down his face and groan. He must have looked pitiful from the outside.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was a powerful Asgardian prince who had been waiting months in anticipation for the birth of his children, and now the day had come, he was practically paralysed with terror. No enemy or monster he had fought in the past had ever come close to leaving him quaking in his boots like he was now, not even facing Thanos was as nerve-wracking as watching Amelia go through labour.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He welcomed the breeze that brushed over him, staring down at the kingdom. The lower-class populace of Asgard were going about their day, likely unaware that Amelia had gone into labour, although news did spread quickly, so it was only a matter of time.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Some time after the birth they would head down into the city, so that the people of Asgard could look upon the faces of the new prince and princess, but not until they were a few months old and the weather had warmed up a little. Even if his children took after him and had a natural immunity to chilly weather, he felt it would be cruel to parade them around while it was still cold out, especially when the embracing warmth of the sun would be much more pleasant to feel upon their skin.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But first, Loki had to get through </span>
  <em>
    <span>today. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Or, if they were unlucky, the next </span>
  <em>
    <span>few </span>
  </em>
  <span>days.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you doing out here?” Loki was surprised to hear Thor’s disbelieving voice come from behind him, he had expected the King would be busying himself with his duties and preparing for the, ah, </span>
  <em>
    <span>arrival, </span>
  </em>
  <span>of the new royal children.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki sighed and told his brother the truth, “I couldn’t breathe in there. I couldn’t find a way to be useful either.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thor approached and stood by his brother, staring him down with a cynical look, “Are you jesting? She’s your wife and she’s in labour! You need to be with her!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Inga said it could take days, I don’t need to be with Amelia every second of it,” Loki argued, trying to brush off Thor’s accusatory words despite the fact that each syllable felt like a punch to the chest. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If Amelia needs to be there for every second of it, I think you should too,” Thor stated bluntly, a frown marring his face, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“really, </span>
  </em>
  <span>brother. Why are you out here? It’s unlike you to leave Amelia alone when she obviously needs you by her side.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki clenched the balcony railing harder to stop his hands from shaking, “I’m not so sure she </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>want me by her side. She just seemed so prickly and dismissive whenever I tried to comfort her.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thor looked sceptical, eyeing Loki with his mismatched eyes like he was some fool - it didn’t help Loki’s already peevish mood to have his bothersome brother telling him he was making a mistake when Thor didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>understand </span>
  </em>
  <span>the situation.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What makes you think she didn’t want you there? Maybe she’s just worried.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She responded better to comfort from Inga than from me. She was giving me one-word answers when I asked if she was alright. She kept cutting me off when I tried to calm her when she was in pain from the contractions.” Gripping the railing wasn’t working to hide his shaky hands, so he crossed his arms instead.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thor was quiet for a moment, tilting his head as he observed his brother’s tense posture and rigid position, “Well, perhaps your attempt at comforting wasn’t working because… you’re also clearly terrified?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Loki spat, glaring at his brother.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thor raised his hands and smiled. “It doesn’t take a genius to see that you’re an anxious mess, Loki. And I don’t blame you! I would be too if I had a wife in labour and twin babies on the way! But maybe Amelia doesn’t need her husband buzzing with anxiety at her side while she’s just as, if not more, frightened of what’s to come.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Exactly,” Loki hissed, begrudgingly admitting his nervousness, “that’s why I’m out here where I can’t bother her.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But she doesn’t need that either,” Thor argued, “she wants you by her side, but you need to be strong and supportive and you need to tell her, with confidence, that everything’s going to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki looked at his brother, lips parted in surprise.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you understand what I’m saying, Loki? She was most likely antsy and irritated because she could sense your fear. You’re allowed to be nervous, but if she’s relying on you for assurance, you need to convince her that everything will be fine.” Thor grabbed his brother by the shoulders, giving him a sympathetic smile, “I can’t imagine exactly what you’re feeling, as I’ve never been in the position you’re in now, but… there must be some excitement under that fear somewhere, right? You’ll soon be able to hold your children for the first time!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A rush of adrenaline flooded through Loki at the thought, almost punching the breath out of his lungs in the process, and he let his gaze fall to his hands, which continued to tremble. He wondered if his hands would be steady when his newborn son or daughter was placed in his hold. He’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>to pull himself together at that point, he couldn’t allow himself to hold his children if there was a chance he might drop one of them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki swallowed and let out a breath, nodding his head, “Okay. I get it. I’m an idiot.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, an utter moron,” his brother replied with a smirk, and then patted him on the back, “now go make the smart decision and return to your wife.” Loki couldn’t exactly argue with Thor when he knew he was right, and he left the balcony speedily without another word.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki rushed back through the palace corridors, paying the guards and servants no mind as he passed them by, though he certainly felt their curious stares on the back of his head - they’d probably never seen him looking so flustered before.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He reached the infirmary wing of the palace quickly, but before he could rush back into the royal suite, Inga exited the room and placed her hands on her hips upon spotting him across the hallway.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know,” Loki said before Inga could open her mouth to speak, “I made a mistake. I’m back, I won’t leave Amelia’s side again.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good,” Inga stated heavily.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How is she?” Loki inquired.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“In pain, still. It’s only been twenty-six minutes since her last contraction, which means they’re becoming more frequent. I suggest you return to her side, and here’s a word of advice, let her squeeze your hand, it’ll help her through the pain.” Inga stepped aside, motioning the door behind her, and Loki gave her a nod of acknowledgement as he passed her and entered the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The first thing he registered was the irked pout on Amelia’s lips, and the second thing he noticed was her laboured breathing as she endured her current contraction, the bedsheet scrunched up in her balled fist. Loki quickly moved to her side, saving the crumpled linen from her grip and replacing it with his own hand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He gave her an apologetic smile as he brushed a few strands of hair from her face, “I’m sorry I left. I just needed a moment to collect myself, but I’m back now. I want you to know that no matter what, I’m here by your side. You’re so strong, Amelia, and I know everything is going to be just fine. If you need to, you can squeeze my hand.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His words seemed to distract her briefly from her labour pains, because she turned her gaze on him, looking into his eyes, and Loki could </span>
  <em>
    <span>see </span>
  </em>
  <span>the alleviation as her fears were assuaged just </span>
  <em>
    <span>slightly. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She squeezed his hand and leaned her head into his palm, finding a hint of contentment in his affection.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good,” Amelia breathed, “cause if you leave again… I’ll kick your butt,” her so-called threat was interspersed by deep breaths, and Loki found himself smiling as he stroked her sweaty forehead.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I honestly don’t doubt it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>True to his word, Loki stayed by Amelia’s side for the following eight hours, allowing her to hold his hand in her crushing grip when each contraction hit. Amelia found herself growing restless around the fifth hour and expressed her desire to stretch her legs, to which Loki was surprised. Nevertheless, he helped her off the bed so she could walk around, remaining practically plastered to her side as she slowly moved.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was ready to catch her should she find herself doubling over in pain.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia moved to the window, looking out at the beautiful kingdom, and let out a heaving sigh; she was clearly very tired already, which concerned Loki - they hadn’t even gotten to the birthing yet and Amelia looked like she needed a good twenty-four hour nap. Loki had faith in her, though. She would deliver their babies and there wouldn’t be any complications, Loki forced himself to believe it would all be fine, refusing to show a hint of hesitation when assuring Amelia, just as Thor had instructed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The sights of Asgard worked to calm Amelia’s nerves somewhat as the labour progressed, and around the seventh hour, one of the nurses surmised that they were in the final stretch. Amelia’s contractions were a little over three minutes apart and far stronger in intensity; Loki was thankful when his wife finally accepted the pain relief tonic, which brought the crippling bouts of agony to something more moderate and manageable.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki could almost taste Amelia’s dread as the moment grew closer and closer, and while he was feeling just as alarmed on the inside, he put on a brave face and gently squeezed Amelia’s hand, letting her know that he would be there with her through every moment.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Inga confirmed Amelia was ten centimetres dilated, everything seemed to suddenly speed up tenfold, and Loki practically performed a double-take when the healer explained it was time to start pushing with each new contraction. It was like whiplash - to go from eight hours of painful waiting for Inga to suddenly say </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘alright, time to push’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>- and Loki most certainly felt his heart lurch in his chest.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It wouldn’t be long now. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There were multiple nurses present among Inga, and Loki stayed back, well out of their way as they moved back and forth, focused and determined to do their job impeccably, because their task was of the utmost importance.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki put all of his attention on Amelia, carding his fingers through her hair with all the tenderness he could muster. “This is it, Amelia. We’ll be able to hold them soon,” he encouraged her with a smile, and it succeeded in bringing a grin to Amelia’s face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know, I can’t wait,” she whispered breathlessly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, Amelia. On your next contraction, I want you to push, okay?” Inga instructed, and Amelia nodded enthusiastically, probably as a side-effect from the nerves and excitement all mixing into one.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki offered his hand again, “Don’t hold back on the squeezing,” he told his wife.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I might break your hand,” Amelia giggled nervously.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’d be impressed.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When the contraction hit, Loki swore never to underestimate his wife’s strength ever again; his hand was caught in her crushing grip as she wailed, pushing relentlessly with all her might until one of the nurses told her to relax.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re doing brilliantly, Amelia,” Inga praised, “I’ll let you know when to push again.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki watched over his wife, stroking her hair gently as she inhaled and exhaled deeply, and her eyes met his. He knew, in that moment, that it really would all be fine, that his wife was an incredibly strong person, both physically and emotionally. It would be okay.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was only a little over an hour later that their son was born. Contrary to the dragging time of the first stage of labour, the second stage seemed to go by in a flash, and the moment Loki heard the cry of their first newborn, his gaze tore from his wife to land on the tiny baby taking his first breath of air.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Everything else seemed to fade into the background as the baby’s umbilical cord was cut and the boy was placed on Amelia’s chest for her to finally meet him. Amelia was sweaty and red from pushing, and looked almost dazed as her hands went automatically to cradle her child; she took heaving breaths and blinked rapidly, staring down at the boy in disbelief.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“O-oh,” she whispered, “baby, my baby.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The boy’s cry was loud and high-pitched, cutting through the air like a shrill alarm, but it was practically music to Loki’s ears. His son had been born. </span>
  <em>
    <span>His son had been born. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He knew it had been coming, and yet it still felt like a shock. Loki didn’t know what to say, so he simply stared.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His son was smaller than Loki imagined he would be, but as he was born two weeks premature, it was really no wonder. The newborn was messy and coated with amniotic fluid, his little face scrunched up and his little arms flailing, and Loki was relieved to see that he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>blue. It was like a weight had been lifted. The boys skin was peachy pink, no hint of the cold hue anywhere to be seen.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki swallowed, and then noticed Amelia’s lips moving. It took a moment to register her words.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s beautiful,” she whispered, her shaky fingers brushing against the boy’s tiny, rosy cheek.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s mouth wobbled as he struggled to find words for a minute, “He… he is.” There was no previous experience in his life that he could liken to the euphoria he felt in that moment. His fingers twitched with the urge to reach out and touch the boy, but he couldn’t bring himself to move.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia held him for just a few minutes before one of the nurses stepped up to her side with a soft, small blanket. “Congratulations, princess,” the woman praised, “he’s a beauty, just like his parents. I’m going to take him for a while so you can concentrate on bringing the other one into the world, but you’ll have him back soon, I promise,” her voice was soft and understanding, and Amelia realised the importance of letting the nurse wrap him up and take him away from her, because she relented.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But seeing the boy taken away before Loki had had the chance to properly </span>
  <em>
    <span>see</span>
  </em>
  <span> him made his heart lurch longingly, and he stood from his chair, “Where are you taking him?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The nurse cradled the bundled boy in her arms, “To be cleaned, weighed and examined to ensure he is in good health. It is an important process and it won’t take long, my prince.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki slowly sat back down, his eyes never leaving the boy as he was taken to the adjoined room, at least not until he was out of sight.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“One to go, Amelia,” Inga spoke, a smile on her face, “the second baby should come easier than the first. Are you ready to push again?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki noticed for the first time that there were unshed tears in Amelia’s eyes, he wondered if it was from the pain and strain of the birth or if holding their son had prompted her to cry.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m ready,” Amelia breathed. She was practically glowing with liveliness, the birth of her son having rejuvenated her completely, and Loki quickly took her hand again, disregarding any injuries he may sustain from Amelia’s surprisingly shattering strength.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Twenty-four minutes after their son, their daughter was born.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Also not blue, Loki noted in the back of his mind, but the wash of relief that befell him was for other reasons - Amelia had done it. She had given birth to their twin children and she was okay. Utterly exhausted, but okay.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Much like the boy, their daughter’s cry was piercing but welcomed, and Amelia cradled the child against her rapidly rising and falling chest as she came down from the adrenaline rush and entered a new high. She couldn’t stop smiling, and it endeared her to Loki even more than ever before. It was quite a bewitching sight, made only better when the nurse returned with the boy, swaddled in a white blanket.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With his wife and newborn children before his eyes, Loki felt an overwhelming sense of joy, more powerful than anything he had felt in quite a while. It may very well be the happiest day of his life.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When the baby girl was brought back from being weighed and gently cleaned, Inga helped Amelia position them so they could be breastfed in unison. She was full of praise for the new mother, telling her over and over that she did such a great job and that the labour and birth went incredibly smoothly. Amelia was only half paying attention to the healer, but Inga seemed to understand why.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia couldn’t tear her eyes away from her babies, and on top of that she was very visibly bone-tired. The only thing keeping her awake after almost ten hours of labour was the desire to look upon her children and take in their sweet little faces as they fed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki couldn’t blame her. He could hardly look away from them either.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They were beautiful. Beyond beautiful. So small and in need of protection - protection that Loki would unerringly provide. He was full of pride and a deep urge to watch over his children, to make sure nothing bad ever happened to them. They deserved the world, and more.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With the two babies resting safely in her arms, the moment full of peaceful tranquility, Amelia sniffled and blinked as tears rolled down her face. Loki brushed her tears away with his thumb and quietly asked, “Are you alright?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia immediately smiled and bobbed her head in a reassuring nod, “I’m just so happy.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“As am I,” Loki whispered in return, unwilling to break the serene moment with anything more than hushed words, and he grazed the back of his fingers over his daughter’s thin, silken hair, afraid that any more pressure would somehow bring her harm.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a short while, the boy unlatched from Amelia’s breast, making a few soft gurgling noises as he settled, and Amelia looked to her husband knowingly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want to hold him?” She asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki had wanted to hold them since the moment they were born, but at the same time, the thought filled him with trepidation. What if he wasn’t tender enough? What if he hurt them with his rough, calloused hands?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay,” Amelia assured him, as if reading his mind, “I know you could never hurt them.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki pulled his chair in closer and took a stabling breath, reaching for his son with surprisingly steady hands, and lifted the bundled child as carefully as he could. He didn’t want to disturb the boy from his calm state, and almost froze when the newborn let out a quiet noise of dismay at being moved.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, he’ll settle,” Amelia spoke, smiling as she watched.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki repositioned the bundled boy to the crook of his elbow, using both arms to hold him securely before lowering to his seat, his wide eyes pinned to the infant. The boy whimpered, looking like he was gearing up to cry, and Loki looked imploringly to Amelia with wavering uncertainty in his gaze.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Talk to him,” Amelia suggested simply.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Swallowing his nerves, Loki lowered his eyes back to his son, “...It’s alright, little one,” he murmured, “I won’t let any harm come to you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A fresh wave of wonder rolled over him when the boy appeared to calm down once again, welcoming the arms of his father.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You see?” Amelia spoke, sniffling with joy once again, “He recognises your voice.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How?” Loki wondered, “This is the first time I spoke to him.” He was still gripped with awe, half his attention fastened to the infant’s face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You talked to them for months,” Amelia pointed out with a grin, “like, every single night, you talked to my bump. They heard it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki didn’t know why, but the knowledge that his babies already knew his voice was enough to make his eyes wet. He observed his son’s face, absorbing the sight of his chubby little cheeks and tiny button nose; the boy’s eyes were closed now, but he had been blinking and looking around early, taking in his blurred surroundings, and Loki had been able to perceive just a hint of green in his irises, much like his own.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His hair appeared different to that of his sister’s, still thin but wispy with a few notable curls instead of straight, the strands dark in colour. Loki couldn’t quite discern whether the boy’s hair was black, or dark brown like his mother’s - it was late at night, and the only light present was dim from the oil lamps, but he figured he would find out when the sun rose the next morning.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The boy yawned, stretching his small mouth and letting out a slight squeak, and that was the point at which Loki wholly understood Amelia’s joyful crying. A few tears squeezed out from the corners of his eyes, and he murmured a quiet ‘oh’ in acceptance of the feeling rushing through him. He couldn’t remember the last time he had cried from </span>
  <em>
    <span>jubilation</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but he welcomed it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think this one looks more like you,” Amelia indicated their daughter, who was just finishing up feeding, “she has your nose, and your earlobes are totally the same.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“My nose and earlobes?” Loki parroted in amusement, wiping the wetness from his face with his sleeve. At first, he thought it was a silly comparison to notice so quickly, but then he realised he had subconsciously been thinking his son looked just like Amelia with his round face and the shape of his mouth.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Amelia snickered, “your handsomest features.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow,” Loki breathed, “I can’t believe you married me just for my nose and earlobes.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia threw her head back, stifling a cackle which turned into a snort, “You’d better believe it, babe.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Before long, both infants were fast asleep, warm and comforted in the arms of their parents, and Amelia spoke up after a long period of silence.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We need to name them.” It was something Loki knew had been coming, but he still felt a flutter of apprehension at the thought of struggling unsuccessfully for days to come up with two meaningful names for their beloved babies.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you… have any ideas?” Loki enquired tentatively, hoping the was a resounding </span>
  <em>
    <span>yes.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia smiled knowingly, which gave him hope, and she gazed up at the wall opposite them by the window, motioning the painted patterns on the surface with an upwards tilt of her head, “You see that floral pattern? Do you recognise the flower?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki followed her gaze, picking out the flowers Amelia was referring to - small daisy-like blooms with many thin, purple petals, and he shook his head apologetically, “Will you enlighten me?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re asters; in some cultures they’re considered enchanted flowers that drive away evil, and they’re often used as talismans of love and patience,” she explained in hushed tones, “well, that’s what I want to name our daughter. Aster.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The name was elegant and sweet. “Aster,” Loki repeated, testing the name on his tongue, and decided at once that he loved it. The name was beautiful, just like their daughter, perfectly fitting. “It’s perfect.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, good!” Amelia gasped. “I’m so glad you like it, cause that was the only name that kept coming to me,” she giggled, “and what about you? Do you have any ideas for what we should name our son?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki gulped, “I… don’t really know.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia tilted her head, “I named our daughter, so I think it’s only fair you get to name our son.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki blinked rapidly as he tried to think, but his brain offered him absolutely nothing, “I don’t know.” It was a decision of great importance, and he didn’t want to pick a name that didn’t seem fitting enough.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Loki, look at him,” Amelia instructed, “just look at his face, and think.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He did as she told him, looking over the adoring face of his sleeping son. He looked so soothed and undisturbed, the sight was completely pacifying, and a part of Loki wished he could live in this blissful moment for the rest of his days.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I… I don’t…” Loki sighed, looking back up sheepishly, “Does the name have to begin with an ‘A’?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia blinked, biting her lip so as not to laugh, “What? No, it doesn’t have to begin with an ‘A’.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I just thought…” Loki felt his face flush as Amelia snickered, “You know, because everybody in your family had a name beginning with ‘A’, and you named her Aster, so I figured…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Purely coincidental,” Amelia told him, grinning adorably, “It doesn’t have to begin with ‘A’. You can name him anything you want, love.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That knowledge opened up a whole new world of possibilities, so Loki once again looked upon the face of his son and put his mind to the task. The very first name that flickered into his mind was Leif. It had been the name his mind had supplied for his not-real son when he’d been lost in the delusions Thanos had put him under - it was a good name, meaning </span>
  <em>
    <span>beloved descendant, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but Loki couldn’t bring himself to use the name for his </span>
  <em>
    <span>real </span>
  </em>
  <span>son. Not when it triggered the awful memories that had followed that point in his life.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Leif was off the table.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Various Norse names flashed through his head, but none of them seemed to stick with the infant’s face. He imagined the right name would stand out immediately, that it would just feel unequivocally </span>
  <em>
    <span>right. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He sighed in frustration, reaching with gentle fingers to stroke his son’s head, eyeing the pretty wisps of dark hair that prompted a smile on Loki’s face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And then something came to mind.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s eyebrows rose and he blinked, looking up at Amelia before back down to the boy, and his mouth hesitantly opened.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Kari,” he said quietly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hm?” Amelia hummed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Kari.” Loki repeated the name more firmly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Kari?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia tilted her head, looking down at her son, lips curling up at the edges, “Kari is a cute name,” she approved, “but what does it mean?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki let his fingertips glide through the thin hairs on his son’s head, “It means </span>
  <em>
    <span>curly-haired.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was past four o’clock in the morning, the world outside was dark and the lamplight within the room was further dimmed, giving off just a soft orange glow in the room, enough for Loki to look upon the faces of his children. Kari was sleeping soundly in one of the cribs the nurses had brought in, swathed in the softest blanket with just his chubby round face visible, while Aster was just barely awake, squirming slightly in Loki’s arms as he rocked her gently back and forth, lulling her into slumber.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>No more than six hours old, and the two babies already had Loki wrapped around their tiny little fingers. He would do anything for them. His love for them was already immeasurable, and still growing with each passing moment.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia was practically knocked out after the day she had had, lying motionless on the infirmary bed save for the rise and fall of her chest, and yet she had still fought her tiredness till the last moment. She had wanted to remain awake so she could be there for her newborns, but Loki had eventually persuaded her to lay her head down and go to sleep.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He’d promised to stay up and watch over them, wanting his wife to get as much rest as possible.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster had stirred a few minutes ago, making soft noises that steadily grew in volume, and Loki had picked her up carefully and held her close, whispering quietly to soothe her away from crying. It didn’t take long for her to settle down, and once she did, Loki waited a good fifteen minutes before laying her back in her crib beside Kari’s, content to simply hold her and watch her breathe for a while.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki stood over them, looking back and forth every so often when one of them would twitch slightly or coo in their sleep. It was so peaceful.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The quietest knock on the door drew Loki’s awareness, and he forced himself to tear his attention away from his little ones. He padded towards the door and opened it excruciatingly slowly, trying to avoid the slight creak of the wood, peering curiously through the gap.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thor stood there, looking both sheepish and full of excitement.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know I wasn’t supposed to come until mid-morning,” Thor began, his usually natural booming voice lowered to a mild murmur, “but I can’t sleep and I just </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>want to see them.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As the babies had been born late at night, Inga had recommended no visitors until long after sunrise the next morning, just to offer Loki and Amelia some time alone with their newborn children, and Loki had assumed Inga had enforced that rule even on the king.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Everyone’s sleeping,” Loki whispered, quirking up an eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Please? Just to see them. I won’t be long.” Thor was </span>
  <em>
    <span>begging</span>
  </em>
  <span> to be allowed into the room, to which Loki gave an amused smile.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You must be completely quiet. Aster is a light sleeper,” Loki revealed, and Thor’s eyes lit up brighter than the warm glow emanating from the room. The king nodded enthusiastically, clamping his lips shut to show he was prepared to be as silent as a mouse.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki opened the door unhurriedly and Thor slipped in. The king looked to Amelia first, smiling as she slept; Loki imagined Inga had probably told Thor exactly how the labour and birth had gone, so he knew just how exhausted Amelia must have been by the end of it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Thor crept up to the cribs, he covered his mouth to keep from loudly expressing his glee at the sight of the infants, and remained silently observing them for several minutes; Loki could see the rush of delight on his face as he took in the sight of his niece and nephew for the first time. Loki probably would have teased him about it if it wasn’t for the fact that he’d had much the same response the moment they’d been born.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a while, Thor opened his mouth, “Loki… they’re beautiful.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know,” the proud father responded.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And- they’re perfectly healthy, right?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes. Despite being born two weeks early, both are a healthy weight. Aster is five point eight pounds, and Kari is six point two pounds. No complications, everything went smoothly,” Loki relayed, “I think Amelia could just about sleep for a whole week after yesterday.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll bet,” Thor grinned, “Can I hold them?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s eyebrows furrowed, “No, Thor. They’re sleeping.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Right,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>said Thor, “I meant, can I hold them </span>
  <em>
    <span>tomorrow?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not sure. We’ll see.” Loki shrugged cryptically, and Thor knew he was winding him up - at least he </span>
  <em>
    <span>hoped</span>
  </em>
  <span> he was.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Brother, this is truly a jovial occasion. The whole kingdom will be overjoyed when news of the birth gets out.” Thor leant over Kari’s crib, fighting the urge to reach in and brush a large finger against the boy’s pudgy cheeks, “Prince Kari and Princess Aster, the new royal children of Asgard.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mmm,” Loki hummed softly, “I… expect I’ll be quite busy the coming weeks. I must warn you that the likelihood of me being able to attend every advisory meeting is relatively low.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thor stifled a chuckle, “Understood, brother. I know where your priorities lie right now.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Silence fell for a while, where the only noise interspersed between the tranquil moments was the slight whistling of the wind outside - not loud enough to wake the children, thankfully - and the light of the oil lamps flickered through the darkness.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Enjoy this moment, brother,” Thor began, a knowing smile on his face, “I suspect it’ll be the last instance of peacefulness for you for a while.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And there we have it. The babies have been born into the world with a loving mama and papa and everything is well &lt;3 I never planned on making things difficult for Amelia here, I wanted the birth to be quick and easy save for a little pain, because as you all well know, she's dealt with three fics full of angst xD</p>
<p>I hope everybody approves of the names. I'd known what to name the girl practically from before I even started this fic, but the boys name, Kari, actually didn't come to me until last week. I had ACTUALLY decided to name him Ari, but had a change of heart. I really like the names Aster and Kari, and I hope you do to.</p>
<p>Now, just in case anyone is disappointed that neither of the babies were blue... just hold your horses there and have faith that I do have plans to write something about that ;) Hopefully you'll be satisfied when that time comes.</p>
<p>IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ: If anyone has ideas to share for things they wanna see with mama!Amelia and dad!Loki then PLEASE TELL ME, because while I have a few ideas, such as first steps and first words etc, I do want to extend this fic as much as possible so everybody gets a wonderful amount of Loki and Amelia being parents, and the best way for that to happen is to write based on ideas any of you might have!! I definitely want to write as many chapters as I can from here on out, and I am fully open to incorporate anything you want to see happen in this fic!</p>
<p>Finally: I friggin love you all, your comments literally make me so BEYOND happy and I can't wait to see what everyone thinks of this chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. These Sleepless Nights Are Welcomed</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I love writing dad Loki. I love it so much.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The first few nights after the birth of Aster and Kari were, predictably, restless.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The cribs were moved into Loki and Amelia’s bedroom so that it would be easy for either of them to get up and see to the needs of their newborns as soon as the babies woke from their slumber, but it meant that the moment either of the children were disturbed from their sleep, their piercing cries awoke everybody in the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was unavoidable and expected, and given that every two to three hours, both babies needed to feed, Amelia rose from the bed like clockwork the moment she heard even a whimper. However, that didn’t mean that they babies woke every two to three hours - in fact, they woke more like every hour or so, to which Loki had to tell Amelia to lay down and go back to sleep, and that he would deal with the babies until they next had to feed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Still, it was difficult to get back to sleep while she could consistently hear her children fussing as Loki tried to calm them down just across the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia had noticed that Kari was definitely louder than his sister, Aster. He was the one that had no problems waking his parents up just as they managed to relax into a deeper sleep, and he did so with powerful lungs. His sister was a little more reserved, and only tended to cry when her brother did so for more than a few minutes, otherwise she was often quiet. While it was interesting that Amelia had noted these differences, she couldn’t help but just see it as anything but bothersome in her sleep-deprived state.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was exhausting, and it quickly overwhelmed Amelia to the point where she teared up out of fatigue one morning after the sun had risen and Loki had gently shaken her awake about half an hour after she’d finally fallen asleep. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry, my love,” Loki quietly apologised, “if you need to, you can sleep a while longer before we get up for breakfast.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it’s okay,” Amelia sniffled, wiping her eyes with embarrassment as she pulled herself together. She felt rather bashful about her upset state, because it wasn’t like she hadn’t anticipated that she would be unable to sleep for the first month or two after the birth. That was just the price to pay for a new parent. “They’re probably going to need feeding soon, anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki sighed, “It’s a shame I can’t feed them.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia gave a soft chuckle at that, “If we’d brought the breast pump we left in Manhattan, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>would </span>
  </em>
  <span>be able to.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki looked at her for a moment, “I could return to Avengers Tower and pick it up. It wouldn’t take long.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia blinked. She hadn’t even considered the idea.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If… if you can, yeah. At least then we could take turns feeding them.” The breast pump could likely be a game-changer, it was a good thing they purchased it when they did.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll pick it up before noon,” Loki promised, leaning down to press a kiss to Amelia’s lips, before a soft whimpering sounded from the other side of the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Right on time,” Amelia remarked quietly, preparing to get up once again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You relax, I’ll see to them,” Loki said, giving her another quick kiss on her cheek before slipping out of bed and pulling on his silk robe. Amelia laid her head back on her pillow, watching her husband through the translucent curtain hanging from the bed frame; she didn’t expect she’d be able to fall back to sleep, but it was sweet that Loki was trying to give her a few more winks.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, you,” Loki murmured softly as he leant over Kari’s crib, reaching first to brush his finger over the baby boy’s cheek, a tender reminder that he wasn’t alone and that his dad was there for him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster had woken from her brother’s noisiness, but had yet to start crying. Amelia could see her wriggling in her crib within the blanket swaddle like a little adorable caterpillar, so unless Loki gave her a little comfort as well, she would surely begin whimpering soon enough, and then he’d have two crying babies on his hands.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You need to quieten down, little one. Your mother is trying to sleep,” Loki spoke gently, lifting Kari out of his crib to rest him in the crook of his arm, before he began to lightly rock the boy back and forth, and peered down into Aster’s crib to check on her. “Why are you crying, hmm? Are you hungry or do you need changing? Are you scared? Or perhaps you’re just grumpy because the sun woke you up?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The way he spoke to them was absolutely wonderful and filled Amelia with delight. For the longest time, only Amelia had known the softer side of Loki, the side he often refused to show even to the other Avengers, and now there were two more little objects of affection in his life, which meant he may not be able to completely hide it any longer. Sooner or later, he’d have to show his adoring, caring side in front of somebody he would usually conceal it from.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Soon enough, Aster was crying alongside her brother, and Loki was stuck in the middle of trying to soothe two infants. He looked back and forth between them, quietly shushing them in the hopes that they would find the noise calming, but no such thing occurred. Loki peered apologetically over his shoulder back at Amelia with a hint of imploration in his gaze, to which she laughed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She’d seen it coming.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia dutifully got out of bed and sat in the armchair close to the cribs, preparing to breastfeed her babies yet again. She still needed Loki’s help positioning the babies for when they needed to be fed together, but Amelia was definitely falling into the habit of regular feeds, even when she had to sacrifice her sleep for it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Once both infants were comfortably nursing, Amelia looked over their angelic faces and let out a sigh. Kari and Aster were worth losing sleep over, because when she absorbed the sight of their innocent, wide-eyed expressions as they drank their milk, Amelia felt nothing but love fill her heart.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They both had pretty, matching green eyes that they had inherited from their father, and it just made them all the more beautiful. She couldn’t wait to watch them grow into wonderful people.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s looking at you,” Loki pointed out as he sat across from Amelia on the recliner, leaning forward to inspect Aster’s face. The infant was indeed staring up at her mother, and it was a struggle for Amelia not to let out a squeal of pure happiness; usually the babies’ eyes wandered aimlessly around the room because their vision was mostly blurry so soon after being born, but occasionally when they seemed to momentarily focus on a particular shape, and when that shape just so </span>
  <em>
    <span>happened </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be Amelia’s face, it sent her heart absolutely soaring through the roof.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was simply a reminder that she and Loki had created two gorgeous, living, breathing beings that they both loved unconditionally.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you, Aster,” Amelia whispered. She looked forward to the day those green eyes would light up in comprehension of those few words.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Loki returned from picking up the breast pump, Aster was fast asleep and Amelia was cuddling a sleepy but still conscious Kari, and Amelia couldn’t help but notice that her husband looked a little ruffled upon entering the room, his face looking a little fed up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s wrong?” Amelia asked with a quirked eyebrow, and Loki rolled his eyes and shook his head, an expression that was usually completely subtle, but in this case it was all too clear; he placed the box on the table and slumped back down on the recliner, running a hand down over his face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They practically swarmed me when I arrived at the Tower,” Loki groaned, and Amelia didn’t have to ask to know who he was talking about. The Avengers hadn’t been entirely happy when they learned they wouldn’t get to see the babies until Amelia and Loki moved back into the Tower when the infants were at least three months old, so it stood to reason that the moment they saw Loki, they’d bombard him with questions. “They wanted to know everything, how the labour went, how the babies were, what they looked like, what it was like being a new father. I told them I was just there to pick something up, but they wouldn’t leave me alone.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia giggled, “It’s because they care. They’re just curious and they wanna see these little sweetpeas,” she placed a kiss on Kari’s forehead, watching as he blinked slowly - it was becoming harder and harder for him to keep his eyes open.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The baby boy wasn’t the only one who was visibly tired. Loki had laid down on the recliner, cushioning his head on the puffy pillow, his eyes just slightly glazed. The sleepless few nights hadn’t only been taking a toll on Amelia, Loki was also lacking energy, which really said something given his biology allowed him to go longer than a human without needing sleep. Hopefully their new arrangement of taking turns feeding would make things easier.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was put to the test that night, after Amelia had pumped a few bottles worth of milk over the course of the day intermittently between feeds, when Amelia found herself rousing from sleep at the sound of mild crying which would soon grow louder if unseen to. She pushed herself up habitually, but Loki was already awake beside her, and gently pushed her back down, giving her cheek a loving kiss.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You sleep, I’ll settle them,” he promised, sounding oddly excited, and Amelia gave an unintelligible moan in response, barely conscious enough to register Loki’s exact words, and fuzzy enough that she easily fell back asleep within a couple of minutes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Until she was awoken by the telltale sound of one of the babies rousing from slumber, the steadily growing almost-cry that sent off an alarm in her brain that screamed </span>
  <em>
    <span>get up, it’s time to feed them, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and rolled over to look through the curtain. Amelia wasn’t sure how long it had been since Loki had gotten up initially, but he was still over by the cribs, in the process of picking up the child that was whimpering for attention, a bottle already prepared in hand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Perhaps she had merely blacked out for a few minutes, but Loki looked like he could handle it, so Amelia rested her head back and let sleep take her once again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The next time she woke up, it was morning and Loki wasn’t lying beside her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A sudden jolt ran through her due to the sudden realisation that she hadn’t woken to feed the babies all night, and Amelia worriedly clambered across the bed to peer through the curtain over at the cribs. Loki was lounged across the recliner with a book in hand, resting his head in his palm as he read, and on the table Amelia could see the empty bottles she had filled up with milk the previous day.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki must have fed the children every time they woke up hungry. Amelia frowned in puzzlement, she had thought they were going to take turns.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How long have you been up?” Amelia asked quietly, mindful that the babies were still very much asleep.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki looked around, “A while,” he answered, “how did you sleep, love?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, very well, apparently,” was her curious reply, “I was under the impression we were gonna go back and forth with feeding them?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki shrugged slightly, giving a subtle smile, “Well, you were exhausted. Midgardians tire much more easily than Asgardians, I thought it fitting to give you a break. Plus, I like feeding them,” he admitted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia appreciated that her husband was looking out for her, and she found it very sweet that he enjoyed giving the babies their bottles, but she didn’t want </span>
  <em>
    <span>Loki </span>
  </em>
  <span>to run his energy levels dry ensuring she got a full night’s sleep, “Just remember that we’re doing this together, so if you get sleepy, it’s my turn, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course,” Loki stood, shaking his head dismissively, “it’s no matter. I can go more than a week without sleeping, anyway. I like… watching over them,” he said, gravitating closer to the cribs that their children were currently occupying, blissfully unaware of the world around them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>While the thought of several full nights of sleep was lovely, she didn’t want Loki to stay up seven days and nights in a row for her sake, “We’ll take turns tonight, okay?” She tried, hoping not to shovel all of that responsibility onto her husband. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mm, sure.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki didn’t appear to be listening to her. He was very quickly engaged with the sleeping infants, too taken with observing them as they slept, which was terribly endearing. He was attentive with their needs and had already begun to decipher the subtle differences in their cries that explained whether they were hungry, needed changing, or just wanted attention. Amelia chalked it up to his finely-tuned hearing, and figured it would naturally take her a little longer to interpret Kari and Aster’s crying correctly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That night, yet again, Loki got up every time the children roused. Amelia woke long enough to witness her husband gently rocking Kari, looking down at him like the little bundle was the sun, stars and moon all in one. Even in her haze, Amelia felt the rush of wholesome adoration at the scene before her, shortly before dropping off the sleep once more.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The next few nights proceeded in a similar fashion. Loki vehemently volunteered to be the sole carer for the babies during the night, awarding Amelia the gift of restful sleep at the expense of his own energy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia could see that it was beginning to affect him - he was beginning to display that drowsy look every so often, as if his body was begging him to just rest his eyes for a few moments, before he blinked himself out of it. Eventually, Amelia had had enough of letting Loki deprive himself of rest.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She got out of bed one morning, padding over to the recliner Loki had taken to sitting on whenever he wanted to look over Kari and Aster, and tapped his shoulder, knocking him out of his foggy stupor. His head had been hanging forward as he leant with his elbows on his knees, practically asleep already in an uncomfortable position; he straightened up at the contact, to which Amelia smiled and kissed his forehead.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You need sleep, go to bed,” she told him, and Loki rolled his eyes, refuting her words with a shake of his head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m fine, I’m awake.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You weren’t a few seconds ago. You haven’t slept for days, at least go take a quick nap.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it’s okay, I don’t need to.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia quickly grew frustrated with her husband’s stubbornness, “Look, go take a half hour nap, and then we’ll go for breakfast, alright?” She’d added a little firmness to her voice, and Loki gazed up at her momentarily, blinking slowly, before relenting.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine… half an hour,” he finally agreed, pushing himself up. He gave Amelia a loving kiss that lasted several delightful seconds, and then smiled tiredly at her before making his way to the cushioned bed. He all but collapsed upon it, and Amelia heard his breathing even out within minutes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She quickly dressed herself and, with the help of a very quiet servant, took the babies down to the throne room so that she could eat breakfast and breastfeed the babies without waking her enervated husband.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia expected a few hours would pass, and then Loki would rejoin her - perhaps a little disoriented and grumpy for being lied to - and they could continue to go about their day as usual, caring for their infants. So it was somewhat of a surprise when almost the entire day passed before Loki showed his face again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The prince managed to get a full nine hours of sleep before awakening, probably in a panic to the sight of an empty bedroom. Amelia had found it lightly amusing when Loki rushed into the throne room during the late afternoon banquet, still dressed in his flowing green robe, hair crinkled and unbrushed, in a pretty flustered state. He did appear a little more alert than this morning, however.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia was in the middle of enjoying her meal. She’d been awarded a break from watching the two tiny tots by herself thanks to Thor, Inga and Signy, who had all offered to entertain the infants while she ate. Glancing up at her ruffled husband, she smiled, “Sleep well, Loki?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You lied to me,” Loki pointed out flatly, “you said you’d wake me up after half an hour.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia popped a grape into her mouth, chewed and swallowed, and spoke, “I do believe I never said anything about waking you up. You slept as long as you needed. That’s what happens after you stay up for a whole week looking after our children instead of sensibly splitting the parenting tasks with me.” Her smile turned self-satisfied at the pouty expression Loki rapidly covered up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia followed Loki’s gaze to Signy, who sat just to her right, happy at the sight of the Asgardian woman playing peek-a-boo with a very animated Kari. The boy was wide awake, unlike during the other eighteen or so hours of the day, and he wriggled his little arms and legs energetically when Signy pulled her hands away from her face and said </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘boo!’</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Then, Loki turned to Thor and Inga, who were sitting near the head of the long table, and he fastened his robe a little more securely before marching over to his brother with a firm expression on his face, endeavouring to look as intimidating as he could while in his current attire.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, brother,” Thor began when he saw the other approaching, “your daughter is very strong for one her size.” The infant had her hand wrapped tightly around Thor’s index finger and didn’t seem to be relenting her hold.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was a hint of something in Loki’s expression that looked almost… jealous? Like he was envious of any moment his children spent being held by anybody else. Amelia couldn’t really understand why Loki could possibly be jealous because of that, but Loki was a complex individual with complex emotions, so she had learned there were some occasions where attempting to figure him out would be a waste of time.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I think I’ll be taking her back now. She’s missing her father.” Loki took his daughter back from Thor, to the latter’s dismay, somehow convincing Aster to release the king’s finger, and cradled her in his arms. It was clear to everybody present that Aster had been perfectly content in her uncle’s care, Loki wasn’t fooling anyone. Aster quickly transferred her impeccable grip to Loki’s finger instead, and he sent his brother a smug look.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s that, Aster?” Loki questioned curiously, before proceeding to lean down like the infant was whispering something furtively into his ear, “You think Uncle Thor smells awful? Well, that’s a very impolite thing to point out, but… I can’t say I disagree.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia snorted at the childish act, running a hand down her face. At least her husband wasn’t dead on his feet anymore. Perhaps that night, she’d be able to convince him to take turns with the kids.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>More cute chapters to come!!! I'm particularly looking forward to first words ;)</p>
<p>If you're excited for more, leave a comment!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. A Spectre in the Night</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Amelia wakes up to the sight of a silhouette through the bed curtains.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The comments in the last chapter made me so happy, I read them all and I loved them. Thank you so much everybody who continues to read, support and comment &lt;3 You are all so wonderful. </p>
<p>I hope you enjoy this chapter, it was lovely to write ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia drifted awake to a dark room. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was probably around two o’clock in the morning, the bedroom was still relatively warm from the fire Loki had kindled several hours earlier, just before they’d settled into bed for the night, and it instilled a sense of serenity, allowing Amelia to snuggle a bit more firmly against her husband’s side without losing the haze of sleep in her mind.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That was, until Amelia realised what had woken her up in the first place.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was a soft melodic humming noise floating through the room, the lulling notes almost sweet enough to coax Amelia back into her dreams, but the realisation that it couldn’t possibly be Loki, as he was asleep right beside her, was enough to pull her out of her tired daze and into the real world.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She held her breath as a sort of fear response, ears fine-tuning to the crooning that was catching on the air. Her first thought was that it was clearly a woman’s voice, and her second, more assuring thought was that it could be Signy or Inga, but her third thought, which was the most lucid of all, told her there was no way either of the Asgardian sisters would wander into the prince and princess’s royal chambers at this time of night.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia did not recognise the voice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With her breath still caught firmly in her lungs, she moved ever so slowly, lifting her head to peer around the room in search for the source.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There, through the curtains hanging from the bedpost, Amelia spotted the silhouette of a figure standing over the babies cribs. Immediately, the breath trapped in Amelia’s lungs rushed out in the form of a horrified gasp. There was somebody </span>
  <em>
    <span>in the room.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Somebody unknown. And they were watching the children.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In a wave of motherly panic, Amelia pushed the covers back and scrambled to the edge of the mattress, not even wasting a fraction of a second to put her feet into her slippers before staggering up and rushing around the side of the bed. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As the corner bedpost zipped past her field of vision, the mysterious figure seemed to just disappear, causing Amelia to halt in her tracks, the adrenaline still rushing through her now-confused mind. She was sure she hadn’t been imagining it, there </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>been someone there.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia took a few hesitant steps forward, approaching the cribs to peer in and check that her babies were safe and sound.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari was asleep, as still as a stone, but Aster was awake. Her big eyes looked aimlessly around, probably lacking any clarity in the darkness of the room - Amelia could only just really see due to the low moonlight seeping through the windows - but it was proof enough for Amelia to grow confident she had definitely seen somebody. It couldn’t have been a trick of the eye.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster was a light sleeper. Whoever or whatever had woken her up was the same thing that woke Amelia.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She reflexively reached down and picked Aster out of the crib, holding the baby close to her chest just to double check that she was truly alright, and in the same movement, she called Loki’s name, trying to be loud enough to wake her husband, but quiet enough not to wake Kari.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a few hushed attempts, Loki roused, pushing himself up into a sitting position slowly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s wrong?” He asked tiredly, rubbing his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Loki, I think there’s someone in here.” The words tumbled from Amelia’s mouth, the anxiety explicit in her words, to which Loki seemed to become more alert. He shifted, quickly rising from the bed as he glanced around the room as Amelia had done.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Where?” He asked, the sleepy rasp now missing from his throat as his tone now revealed nothing but seriousness. He walked first to Amelia’s side, one hand protectively on her upper arm, the other on Kari’s crib as he checked the infants over just briefly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I- I don’t know,” Amelia whispered, shaking her head, “I woke up and I saw them standing right here- but when I got up they were gone!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Shh, shh,” Loki hushed and instructed her, “stay by the cribs.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With that, he stepped away, checking the closer side of the room that was by the door; he inspected every dark corner with his superior vision, checking everywhere that somebody could reasonably hide, and while he did this Amelia eyed the rest of the room, ready to alert Loki at the first sign of movement.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She was surprised Kari had still managed to sleep his way through the commotion, and that Aster was very unbothered by everything, chewing absent-mindedly on the material of Amelia’s sleep clothes. Perhaps she was hungry, but Amelia didn’t want to feed her until she was sure she was safe in the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fearlessly, Loki knelt and checked under the bed before examining the rest of the room and the connected bathroom. Finally, he pressed his eyes to the window of the balcony, surveying it for intruders. He eventually took a step back with a sigh, “There’s no one here, Amelia.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Loki, I saw somebody,” Amelia repeated firmly, “I know I’m not mistaken.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki frowned and crossed the room, opening the door of their chambers to address the night guards that stood watch, “Has anybody come through these doors since we entered last night?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nobody, my prince,” Amelia heard one of them respond confidently. Loki nodded and closed the doors, making his way back to Amelia’s side.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure you weren’t dreaming, love?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia felt herself pout, “No, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>saw</span>
  </em>
  <span> her Loki! She was standing here, I wasn’t dreaming!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Her?” Loki raised an eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It was a woman,” Amelia told him, “I could hear her humming, that’s what woke me up. And when I came over, Aster was awake too, so the woman </span>
  <em>
    <span>must </span>
  </em>
  <span>have woken her up.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki didn’t look entirely like he believed her, which made Amelia want to cry, because now she was beginning to worry. She was certain she saw somebody. She couldn’t have been dreaming, because she had still heard and seen the woman when she was up on her feet, and Amelia definitely did not have a history of sleep-walking. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What if they can go invisible? Like you?” Amelia questioned with rising fear, glancing over her shoulder with paranoia. The woman could be standing right next to her and she wouldn’t know.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Unlikely. The few magic-users in Asgard cannot hold the spell as efficiently as I can, and if there </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>anybody in here using a shrouding spell, I would sense them. There’s no one here, Amelia,” he repeated the words he thought to be assuring, but Amelia couldn’t accept them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shaking her head, Amelia mumbled, “What about ghosts? Are ghosts real? Could it be a ghost?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Amelia,” Loki sighed, “just calm down. Nothing is going to harm you or the children. You’re fine.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster interrupted with a gurgle, a sure sign that she wanted her parents to quit talking and start feeding her, and Amelia looked down at her with a frown before shaking her head slightly, “I’m not going to be able to get back to sleep tonight.” Not while there was a possibility that the mysterious woman could come back.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki tilted his head, eyebrows raised incredulously, “If you are truly that shaken, I can stay up and watch over you all. You must rest. But I’m telling you, Amelia… there is nobody in here but you and I, and the babies.” He brushed Amelia’s hair back behind her ear and touched her arm comfortingly, pleading for her to return to bed and put her worry aside.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia sighed, gave the room one last suspicious glance, and then relented. She fed her daughter, who quickly fell back asleep as soon as her tummy was full, placed her back in the crib, and slipped back into bed while Loki sat up against the headboard and let his fingers trail through her hair as he opened up one of the books on his side table and began reading.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki kept his word and was still awake when Amelia blinked her eyes open the next morning; she felt bad for prompting her husband to stay up the whole night, especially after the week prior, just because she was scared of the figure she had seen. In the comfort of sunlight, Amelia began to doubt that she’d even seen somebody at all. Maybe it was just a trick of the light, just a shadow of something that was caught in the moonlight, and her sleep-addled mind had warped it into something it wasn’t.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry for freaking out last night,” Amelia quietly apologised to her husband, “I’m kinda embarrassed.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki smiled her way, indicating that he wasn’t bothered, and leant down to kiss his wife’s forehead, “It’s okay. You’ll be pleased to know I didn’t see anybody wandering around our room for the rest of the night.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>On cue, Kari woke up with what began as a quiet whimpering, and Amelia pulled herself up, padding around over to the crib, “Ohh, is my little boy hungry?” She pulled the boy from his crib and cuddled him, to which he calmed down a little, “Don’t you worry, I’ve got some tasty milk for you, just as soon as I get you changed.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>While Amelia was meeting Kari’s needs, Aster roused from sleep and Loki dutifully picked her up and held her close to his chest, cradling her head gently in his palm.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello little flower,” Loki greeted his daughter gently. It was an adorable little pet name that Amelia wholly approved of, “how are you this morning?” Aster was silent in return, but happily squeezed her dad’s finger within her whole fist when it was offered.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Once Kari was all cleaned up, Amelia fed him till he was happy and full, and then laid him on the bed so that she could play with him. Playing with the nearly two-week old baby mostly consisted of lightly pinching his little cheeks, waving his arms around and singing nursery rhymes to the boy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are,” Amelia sang, moving her head back and forth with each word. Kari may not have known what she was singing, but he was soothed by the tune of the song. His little green eyes gazed widely up at her and Amelia grinned in return.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Their eyes were both so pretty, just like her husband’s.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>On the last note of the song, Amelia booped the boy on the nose, enjoying the aimless cooing noises she got in return from the infant. After a while, Amelia looked back up to Loki, endeared to find him swaying back and forth with Aster as if slow-dancing with the baby.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia couldn’t fathom why Loki ever thought he would be a bad father. He was a natural. If Amelia had had a father who cared one tenth the amount Loki did, she wouldn’t have been relieved when the old man finally bit the dust. Aster and Kari would grow up knowing the love of a father, which was something neither Amelia nor Loki were ever afforded themselves.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She hummed as she stroked Kari’s head, fingers trailing the light wisps of curly hair, and brushed the back of her fingers down the tiny boy’s cheeks, being ever so gentle with him. It was such a sweet, calming moment, and Amelia knew she would remember it forever.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Having a family of her own was the greatest thing that had ever happened to her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What is that?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s voice cut through the atmosphere in an almost accusatory way, which gave Amelia some metaphorical whiplash given her husband looked so staggered for some reason.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh?” Amelia replied dumbly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you singing?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia blinked, “Uh… Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Loki clarified, an odd look on his face, “What were you humming? Just now?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was almost a struggle to recall, even though the melody had just been falling from her lips, and she stared blankly into nothingness for a few moments before admitting, “I don’t know?” Really, the melody had just sort of floated into her head, she didn’t know where it had come from.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Did Thor teach you that song?” Loki probed, his gaze burning into Amelia’s in a way that took her aback.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wha? No. I don’t know, I just made it up, I think.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, you didn’t,” Loki stated firmly, “It’s a lullaby that my mother used to sing to me when I was a child.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia’s mouth fell open in surprise, “Oh-oh, well… I must have heard it being sung by someone in the palace-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Loki hurriedly corrected, “It’s not a well known song.” His voice sounded strained and he looked confused, and honestly Amelia didn’t blame him. He had stopped swaying with Aster and was now standing rigid in place while the child rested her head against his shoulder. “It was a song from an old book that belonged to my mother. I’ve asked around and it seems the book unfortunately perished when Asgard went up in flames. It doesn’t make sense how you could possibly know it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia frowned, deflating a little. She looked curiously down at Kari and wiggled his feet, searching her memory for any hint as to why the tune had come to her. She hummed it again, the melody so crisp and clear in her mind that she found it odd she couldn’t immediately recall where she knew it from.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And then it hit her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia froze, still holding onto Kari’s little feet, and her mouth hung open as she straightened up and looked back at her husband. She swallowed, and then murmured, “Last night, Loki.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Last night. The woman that was here. She was humming the tune,” Amelia explained carefully.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s face was blank as he stared at her, but Amelia could tell that his mind was spinning from the look in his eyes. The only noise audible was Kari’s babbling.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you implying?” Loki finally asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not implying anything. I’m just telling you the truth, last night there definitely </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>someone here, and either somebody else in the palace knows that song, or-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Or?” Loki was getting emotional, that much was obvious, and Amelia tilted her head and sighed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Or maybe it was your mother.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s dead,” Loki was quick to point out.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia knew Loki’s head and heart were struggling with each other. Obviously, he’d like to believe his mother had come and sung the old lullaby he knew so well, but the logical side of his mind told him that couldn’t possibly be true, because she was in Valhalla.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Shaking her head, Amelia softly suggested, “Perhaps she found a way to visit?” Although the figure had given her a scare that night, Amelia felt now that perhaps they were not ill-intentioned. The woman had simply sang to the babies by their cribs. Why would a random Asgardian break in just to sing to the children?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki looked like he wanted to dismiss the idea, but he hesitated, pondering the likelihood of the notion. “If that were true, why did she wait until now to visit?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia read between the lines of his query, knowing the true question he was asking was </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘why wouldn’t she visit me?’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>and beckoned him over with her hand. He approached the bed, laying Aster down next to her brother, and sat on the edge of the mattress, gazing at his family. Amelia laid her hand over his, giving it a slight squeeze and offered him a small smile.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe she wanted too. Maybe she’s not </span>
  <em>
    <span>allowed </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be here and was being sneaky? Maybe it’s dangerous for her to be here,” Amelia shook her head, letting excuses slip from her throat in order to urge Loki not to make assumptions, “Perhaps she only </span>
  <em>
    <span>just </span>
  </em>
  <span>discovered how, and plans to visit again. Or perhaps she already has visited you, and you just didn’t know it.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki seemed to contemplate Amelia’s words.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Or… maybe it wasn’t her, and I really was just dreaming. Perhaps I did hear Thor humming the song, and I picked it up subconsciously.” Amelia was sure she had heard the song from the lips of that mysterious woman, but she didn’t want to give Loki false hope if it really just was a fabrication of her mind.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The twins wriggled in place, limbs moving rather excitably, and Amelia wondered whether all newborns were supposed to be so animated or if it was just hers that had an abundance of energy every so often.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki sunk down and laid across the bed, propping himself up with his elbow as he lightly tickled Aster’s belly, seemingly calmed by the enthusiasm of both babies.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If it truly was her… I am glad she got to meet Kari and Aster. She always wanted grandchildren.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia smiled, warmed by her husband’s words and joined him so that the babies were lying between them. She leaned in and nuzzled Kari’s face with her nose, peppering little kisses to his cheek, delighted by the happy coo she received in return.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Loki?” Amelia asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hm?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Can you sing the lullaby?” She honestly expected her husband to scrunch his nose up at her and vehemently deny the request as Amelia had never really heard Loki sing before, and assumed he was rather against the idea.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But to her surprise, Loki gave her a sheepish smile after a minute and rolled his eyes playfully, “If you insist.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia immediately directed both of her ears in Loki’s direction, waiting eagerly for the moment the first note left his lips.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When he began, his voice was rich and warm like it was drizzled in melted chocolate, and it instantly made Amelia fall even more in love with him, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“On younger mountain-side a vine clings at the foot of a mother pine,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>he sang it with such gentleness that Amelia felt as though she was laying on a cloud, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“The tree bends over the trembling thing, and only the vine can hear her sing. Sleep, sleep, little one, sleep.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia noticed only after a little while that the babies had stopped their rowdy flailing and appeared to be listening to their daddy’s song, hanging off of every word with eyes that were just beginning to droop.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“What shall you fear when I am here?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki smiled as he sang to them, likely finding joy in the revelation that they found the song as calming as he did. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Sleep, little one, sleep.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Huehuehuehue, I was a little ambiguous and left it as a mystery - was it really Frigga coming to meet her grandchildren or did Amelia dream the encounter? ;)</p>
<p>That lullaby, by the way, is an absolutely gorgeous poem written by Eugene Field. It is literally called "Norse Lullaby" and this is the words of the entire poem:</p>
<p>The sky is dark and the hills are white<br/>As the storm-king speeds from the north to-night,<br/>And this is the song the storm-king sings,<br/>As over the world his cloak he flings:<br/>“Sleep, sleep, little one, sleep;”<br/>He rustles his wings and gruffly sings:<br/>“Sleep, little one, sleep.”</p>
<p>On yonder mountain-side a vine<br/>Clings at the foot of a mother pine;<br/>The tree bends over the trembling thing,<br/>And only the vine can hear her sing:<br/>“Sleep, sleep, little one, sleep;<br/>What shall you fear when I am here?<br/>Sleep, little one, sleep.”</p>
<p>The king may sing in his bitter flight,<br/>The tree may croon to the vine to-night,<br/>But the little snowflake at my breast<br/>Liketh the song I sing the best,-<br/>Sleep, sleep, little one, sleep;<br/>Weary thou art, anext my heart<br/>Sleep, little one, sleep.</p>
<p>I love it so much and I HAD to include it &lt;3 :P </p>
<p>Anyone have any ideas on what the next chapter could be about? I have a list of chapter ideas I'm going to write but I'm always accepting new ideas and it's helpful for ensuring I get everything in the right order :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Sprouting Dispositions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Time is passing, slowly but surely. These babies are gonna grow up so fast :') I can't wait till they're speaking their first words and taking their first steps &lt;3</p><p>Thank you for your comments in the last chapter, they made me very happy as always! &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia found it hard to believe it had been a full month since the birth of her children. It felt as though hardly a week had passed, yet time had zoomed on by, and it seemed as though the babies were growing so quickly. They were slightly bigger, both had put on more than a pound in weight, much to Inga’s delight, and their limbs were just a little longer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their faces had changed too. Their eyes were brighter and wider, and their hair had grown in just a tad more, appearing darker. They were beautiful, as always.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t just the physical side of them that had grown. Their personalities were starting to become apparent as well. Amelia had already known that Kari was the fussier of the two, made clear from the fact that he spent most of his conscious time crying for attention, whereas Aster was calmer, she cried less often and wasn’t overly desperate to be held on the near constant basis that Kari was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Inga assured both Amelia and Loki that it was normal for Kari to be as fussy as he was, especially now that he was entering his second month of life, and that it was Aster who was a bit of an oddball for displaying a lot less distress than to be expected. The Asgardian healer also surmised that it didn’t necessarily mean anything was wrong with the baby girl, and that maybe Amelia and Loki were just lucky not to have </span>
  <em>
    <span>two </span>
  </em>
  <span>constantly screaming infants. It didn’t bother Amelia one way or the other. She loved her babies equally and she knew Loki did too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It became a sort of routine for Amelia to sing to Kari most evenings and mornings while Loki was changing Aster and preparing her for bed, or for the day ahead. She sang anything that came to mind that she knew would be soothing for the baby boy’s ears. Her favourite song to sing was ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ because it was one of the few melodies that calmed him instantaneously, and, in fact, the tiny boy would happily coo along as if trying to join in. It was the most pure and wholesome thing, a single moment that Amelia would lock away and always remember.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Perhaps Kari would be a musical kid when he grew up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster, on the other hand, didn’t seem overly enthusiastic when Amelia tried singing to her; instead, while Amelia was busy luring Kari into a light slumber, Loki propped pillows up against the headboard of their bed, took Aster into the crook of his elbow, and cracked open one of his many books to start reading to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Except, the books weren’t baby-friendly. Just like the one Amelia had found in the library before, it was a book that spoke of monsters and scary creatures that lived in other realms, with unpleasant illustrations to match, and yet Loki propped the book up against his thighs and pointed to each sketchy drawing as he read the descriptions, completely unbothered that Aster was getting a full view of the gross creatures.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is a Fossegrim, a water-spirit that tends to linger by waterfalls. It may look handsome at first glance but they can be unpredictable with their intentions, so if you ever encounter one in person, it would be best to walk away, lest you fall victim to its charm,” Loki warned his daughter, tapping the image of the creature with his pointer finger. Aster merely stared at the page, making quiet goo-goo noises in the back of her throat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia leaned over after finally having gotten Kari to sleep and peered at the inked parchment, frowning at the drawings. The so-called Fossegrim appeared to be a half-naked man wielding a violin, getting drenched beneath a waterfall, his face seemingly friendly in the first illustration, but monstrous in the second with his eyes opened wide and lips pulled back to reveal fans in a big toothy grin. If that wasn’t nasty enough, there was also a hastily drawn picture below of what looked like a drowned child.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why are you showing her this? It’s not very nice.” Amelia protested. In all honesty, she wasn’t entirely sure it would have a negative effect on Aster as she was too young to understand anything her daddy was saying or any of the drawings in the book, but as a matter of principal, it seemed like a bad idea to show them to her anyway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s important to read to babies in order to establish a larger vocabulary once they’ve grown-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that’s talking about the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Very Hungry Caterpillar, </span>
  </em>
  <span>or </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Cat in the Hat, </span>
  </em>
  <span>not grizzly accounts from a book of gruesome monsters,” Amelia pointed out with a cynical tilt of her eyebrow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Fossegrim is hardly gruesome. Look at it. It’s a beautiful man with a violin,” Loki argued dismissively.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia pressed her finger to the sketch below, “That’s literally a drawing of a dead child.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki looked down at it for a moment like one would inspect a piece to a jigsaw puzzle, with searching intent, and finally shook his head, “All the better to warn her about such creatures. You wouldn’t want her to be lured into a lake by one of these things because she didn’t know to stay away.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia rolled her eyes, giving her daughter a pondering look. The baby seemed perfectly content, and Loki was probably right about her not being able to find fear in an image she could hardly comprehend.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” Amelia relented with a sigh, and listened to her husband read the words on the pages aloud to their daughter. It was difficult for Amelia to understand why Aster would be more soothed by the words in Loki’s book rather than the nursery rhymes her mother sang, but Amelia wasn’t bothered by it really. Perhaps Aster was just a daddy’s girl.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki flipped the page, but instead of continuing to read, he paused for a strangely long time; by this point, Amelia had almost been dozing off to the sound of Loki’s voice, but she blinked her eyes open and looked up at her husband’s face to find his eyebrows knitted as he glared down at the page.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pushing herself up, Amelia quickly realised why.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The next chapter of his book happened to be on the Jotnar, and the image scratched onto the right side of the page spread was of a very, </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>unfriendly looking Jotun. It was drawn in a purposefully intimidating pose, it’s body depicted as large and brawny; it was hairless, body littered with battle scars, and appeared to be snarling, revealing it’s sharp teeth which were dripping with what Amelia could only assume was blood. The creature’s eyes were blotted out, making it look like a soulless killer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia could not read the paragraph of text beside the image, but she couldn’t imagine it was anything positive given the look on Loki’s face. Aster looked very much like she’d been close to slipping into slumber before Loki’s soothing voice had abruptly cut off, and now she was blinking tiredly, looking up at her daddy’s face as if to say </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘why did you stop?’</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not knowing exactly what to say, Amelia placed a gentle hand on her husband’s upper arm, “Loki?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It seemed to pull him out of his headspace, and he shifted slightly, checking Aster was still comfortable before continuing to reluctantly read aloud the passages on the page.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of all the monstrous creatures in the Nine Realms, the Frost Giants of Jotunheim are by far one of the most dangerous and feared races,” Loki began bitterly, his slightly playful story-telling tone completely replaced by a cold, factual one, “from their huge, brawny bodies to their icy, biting touch, most encounters with these- these </span>
  <em>
    <span>beasts, </span>
  </em>
  <span>will surely be lethal.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He said the words with sharp acidity, his face marred with a frown, and Amelia could tell all those thoughts of self-hatred were stirred and roused from their dormant state. Aster began to whine, it started with a quiet murmur, and Amelia was determined to soothe her before she could grow louder and wake her brother who was slumbering in his crib not too far away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shh, shh,” Amelia hushed the baby, leaning over to stroke her forehead gently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I suppose you were right,” Loki sighed, “this book is too frightening for her.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You dolt,” Amelia grumbled, “she’s fussing because you’re being all moody, not because she’s scared.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki raised an eyebrow in surprise at Amelia’s retort, and then his gaze hardened slightly, “And how do you know that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve read through page after page of weird, disturbing creatures and she’s hardly batted an eyelid, but you think this drawing of a big, bald frost giant is what gets her crying? Obviously not. I think she can sense you’re upset, and it makes her upset too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that, Loki looked down at the bundled baby in the crook of his arm, and leaned down to kiss her forehead. The action had the desired effect, and Aster’s mewling quietened to a soft whimper, but she seemed more awake now, the drowsiness completely gone from his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Looks like you’ll have to read some more to get her to sleep. She seems pretty stubborn,” Amelia smiled, rubbing Loki’s arm, “this time, don’t speak so rigidly, love.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki spared the illustration another glance before pinching the corner of the page to turn it over, but Amelia stopped him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“Wait,” she whispered, and gave Aster her full attention, “while the frost giant in this book may seem scary, they’re not all like that. In fact, I know at least one</span> <span>that is the most wonderful, smart, beautiful person you’ll ever meet, and even though he can be a little chilly sometimes, he’s all warm on the inside.”</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster cooed happily, and Amelia grinned, tilting her head to glance at her husband. Loki was staring at her with an abundance of tenderness and love, and he moved forward to give her a soft, dreamy kiss.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I love you,” he whispered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I love you too,” Amelia replied, giddy from his declaration. It didn’t matter how many times he said those three doting words, they always had the same dizzying effect on her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster made another unintelligible noise, and Loki chuckled, giving her another kiss on the head, “And I love </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>too. And your brother.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia laid against her husband’s side, cosy and content in the warmth of the moment.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>While the weather was still on the chilly side, it was definitely beginning to slowly raise in temperature, and it afforded an opportunity that Amelia had been after for a while. She had wanted to take the babies outside around the palace grounds to give them a taste of nature, but she hadn’t wanted to do so while it was still icy outside.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Spring was approaching, and while it was sprinkling with rain most days, this morning happened to be awash with sunlight, bathing everything in a pretty orange glow. It was to be the first time the babies actually went </span>
  <em>
    <span>outside, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and Amelia was oddly excited about it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instead of a stroller or anything similar, Amelia and Loki each carried a baby in a heavily padded wicker basket where they lay bundled in warm blankets, just for the purposes of easier transportation, instead of having to hold them up to their chests the whole walk. Amelia found it amusing, as if the two infants were part of a picnic set.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The palace grounds smelt pleasantly like petrichor, and the grass was still damp from when it had rained overnight; Amelia and Loki walked side by side, basking in the sun’s glow as it reached over the walled-in courtyard, breathing in the scent around them. It was lovely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At least it was until Kari interrupted the peace with his clamorous cries.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh…” Amelia sighed. It was getting easier to tell between his cries for survival needs and his cries for attention, and this was definitely a cry for attention, “I’m right here, you little drama queen.” She placed the basket down on the nearby bench and picked the swaddled boy out of his carrier and into her arms, rocking him slightly to calm him down. Within a few seconds, his wailing diminished, a little more content with being held at his mother’s breast.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He can’t stand to be anywhere but in your arms,” Loki remarked with a smirk, “I know the feeling.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hush, you,” Amelia retorted to her husband, “I’m sure as he grows older, he’ll become less fussy, but I’ll indulge him with cuddles for now.” She rubbed her hand over the curly wisps of hair on his head, pouring so much love into the gesture.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia watched Kari’s eyes dart around as he absorbed his bleary surroundings, most likely taken aback by the change in scenery, “Perhaps he’s just scared cause it’s his first time out,” she supposed, and abandoned the basket to carry him closer to the plants that were growing on one side of the garden.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An amplitude of little bright purple blooms were growing up the wall, and Amelia stood by them, angling Kari’s head towards them, “See these? Pretty colour, isn’t it?” Amelia smiled, noting the way Kari stared at the plant, “These flowers are heather, the purple ones symbolise admiration and solitude,” she explained, “maybe when you grow up, you’ll love flowers as much as I do?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obviously, Amelia wasn’t expecting a response, the boy didn’t understand her words, but his tiny mouth pulled up at the sides, forming a pretty little smile that made Amelia’s heart lurch.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Loki!” Amelia called, her voice full of urgency.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is it?” Loki quickly approached, mindful not to rock Aster’s basket too much, with a look of concern on his face. That was, until he saw Amelia’s unbelievably wide grin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kari’s smiling! Look!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki leaned over her shoulder, glancing down at his son, but of course by the time he was looking down at the boy, Kari’s smile had disappeared.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You missed it,” Amelia pouted, “he’s so cute, it was such a cute smile.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki chuckled, “I’m sure it was. He has your mouth, after all, he no doubt has a smile like your own.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia’s cheeks went pink from the implied praise. Was that some flirting on Loki’s end? The two of them had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>busy seeing to the children ever since they were born that they didn’t have so much time for each other - it was lovely hearing such a pure compliment from him again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She glanced up, checking to see if any guards were watching, and found that the coast seemed to be clear. She plucked up one of the stems of heather and slipped it into one of the folds of Kari’s blanket so that he could see the brightly coloured petals in front of his face, and predictably, he looked enamoured with it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It made Amelia very happy to see that her son was overjoyed from one flower.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He takes after you,” Loki pointed out, “finding beauty in nature and the most simple things.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And Aster takes after you,” Amelia replied, “with her clear scholastic interests so early in life,” she was of course referring to the night before and Aster’s contentment at being read to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki responded with a smile cast towards his daughter who was quiet in her warm bundle, enjoying the fresh air. “They’re both perfect,” he remarked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They are,” Amelia happily agreed.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I think we'll have another time jump in the next chapter and maaaaaaybe a certain bunch of Avengers will finally meet our two new family members, hmm? ;)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. A Family Expanded</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kari and Aster meet the Avengers.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The Avengers finally get to see the two little babies in this chapter &lt;3 I hope you all enjoy it :P</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki had been smart to craft little makeshift earmuffs from padding and headbands for the babies, because Amelia had not quite anticipated the sheer volume of cheers that would erupt from the crowds on either side of them as they travelled through the residential areas of the kingdom in an open horse-drawn carriage.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia was taken aback by just how enthusiastically the Asgardians expressed their joy at just a glimpse of the tiny faces of their three month old children, and she grinned at the throngs of people jumping up and down, waving their arms and peering over to catch sight of Kari and Aster. She made sure to lift Aster up and angle her face at the horde, ensuring the baby girl was not in any discomfort from the abundance of noise - Loki’s quick-thinking was working wonders for their little ears - and laughed as the squeals from the crowd grew louder and happier still.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two infants had been prettied up for their little parade, dressed in finely-made baby gowns and wearing those circlets Amelia had been gifted at the gala on the day of their birth. The congregation of villagers couldn’t have looked more elated at the new prince and princess of Asgard.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki had mentioned before that the Asgardian people were not used to seeing children, much less infants, but Amelia had never pressed further on it. Now, however, she was very curious.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“When was the last time a child was born in Asgard?” Amelia leaned over to speak into Loki’s ear, barely able to hear her own voice over the noise. He heard, however, with his superior ears.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It has probably been around eighty years since the last birth was recorded,” he informed her after a moment of consideration, and Amelia looked at him in surprise. The fact that the third youngest person in Asgard, not including herself, was around eighty years old - and probably still looked like a teenager or younger due to the slowed aging process of Asgardians - was pretty astounding.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The parade circled through the more clumped-together homes, and Amelia found herself wowed by the infrastructure of the houses - the log cabins invoked an odd desire to go camping in the woods like she had done a few times as a child with her brother - and the fact that even the more common areas of Asgard still looked beautifully built. Nobody in the kingdom spared any expense when it came to rebuilding after relocating to Earth - everybody looked as though they were living comfortably.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That just showed that Thor was a brilliant king who made the needs of his subjects priority, Amelia supposed. Perhaps it was also why every single face just seemed so upbeat and happy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As soon as that last thought passed through her head, she spied a strange sight - the figure of somebody, man or woman, Amelia couldn’t tell, standing a little further back from the crowd. They were barely moving, and they wore a hooded cloak, shrouding their face; it was their stillness that made them stand out, compared to the rest of the masses, and a trickle of nervousness filtered through into Amelia’s chest.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She looked to Loki to see if he had seen the figure, but he was looking to the other side, though he must have sensed Amelia’s sudden discomfort because he turned to her with a concerned frown. Amelia glanced back to where she had seen the mystery individual, but they were gone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Is something wrong?” Loki asked, following her line of sight curiously.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia shifted ever so slightly closer to Loki, cradling Aster closer to her chest subconsciously and shook her head. It wasn’t her first time seeing a strange figure in Asgard, but the last time it happened, she had felt there was some truth in Loki’s surmise that it had been his mother; this time, however, the unusual presence filled her with a feeling that was far from serene.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She shook herself out of it. It was probably just some elderly Asgardian who wasn’t spry enough to jump about like the others and elected to stay back and watch from afar, and she was just reading too much into it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” she forced a smile and tried to put her attention back on the excitement. After a short while, it wasn’t too hard to simply forget about it, because she took comfort in the fact that she would be living in Avengers Tower for the next three months or so anyway.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia had been worried that the babies would not take well to travelling with the Bifrost, but when they touched down on the large balcony, the two infants were still very much fast asleep, completely undisturbed by what Amelia could only describe as a rollercoaster that didn’t abide by the laws of physics. It took her a moment to gather her bearings as she clutched Loki’s forearm, trying to blink away the dizziness.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Even though Thor had already said goodbye to the babies, he begged for one last look at them before having to return to his kingdom, and bid them farewell with a kiss on each forehead, “Goodbye little prince and princess,” Thor sighed as if he wasn’t going to see them again for years, even though they would be back in three months, and Amelia couldn’t help but snicker at the Asgardian king’s pout. He really loved his niece and nephew.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki could only roll his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And goodbye bigger prince and princess,” Thor addressed Loki and Amelia, giving his brother a brief pat on the shoulder and his sister-in-law a big hug, mindful of the baby she carried in her basket carrier.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll miss you,” Amelia stated with a grin, she was going to miss the king’s lovely banquets, and his booming voice with which he told the best stories and the silliest jokes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“As will I,” Thor returned, a smile upon his face, “I will let you go now, I’m sure the others are very excited to meet the little ones.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia and Loki stepped back, clearing the ‘launch pad’, and watched Thor depart in a flash of rainbow colours before heading into the tower, making their way down to the floor with the communal living space where they knew everybody was gathered in anticipation.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The moment they appeared in the entryway of the room, Tony was up on his feet, his face beaming with excitement - it wasn’t such a common expression for the man, and it was truly endearing as he crossed the room to gather Amelia in his arms in a quick, encompassing hug.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve missed you, kid,” Tony exclaimed, “look at you, no more big belly.” His eyes were suddenly pinned to the two baskets in the hands of Loki and Amelia, and it was clear he was begging with his whole being to get a good look at the babies without saying the words.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve missed you too,” Amelia smiled widely, “all of you, of course! Who’s ready to meet the babies?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, please,” Tony implored, palms pressed together below his chin.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve been waiting months for this,” Natasha spoke up, raising her hand in affirmation.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t keep us waiting,” said Bruce, smiling with nervous excitement.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia laughed, glowing with happiness to know that the Avengers were just as thrilled to meet the babies as she and Loki had been; the two infants in question were still sound asleep, having not stirred since they left Asgard - they were probably a bit sleepy from all the hustle and bustle of the parade earlier that day, but she hoped they wouldn’t be too dismayed to be woken up by the curious Avengers wishing to greet them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia and Loki approached the sitting area where everybody was gathered, the latter of the two strangely quiet amongst the enthusiasm of the others as they placed the two baskets on the centre coffee table and carefully peeled the blankets back to reveal Kari and Aster. It was an instant wave of smiles all around.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tony murmured a delighted </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘oh wow’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>at the sight of the slumbering infants, Natasha had to cover her mouth to avoid making a noise that might have embarrassed her, Bruce managed to only just contain his delight, and Steve leaned in to observe them while Clint sat back with a cheery-laced smirk. The slight commotion of their captivation prompted the two babies to begin to stir.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Can we </span>
  <em>
    <span>hold </span>
  </em>
  <span>them? Please, kid?” Tony questioned eagerly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” was Loki’s immediate response.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia nudged her husband in the side in a sort of reprimand, “Of course you can hold them, after they wake up a little more. They were fed not too long ago, so hopefully they’re not too grumpy,” she spoke, kneeling down beside Kari’s basket so that the little boy could awaken to the sight of his mama instead of what he perceived as strangers.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Predictably, after Kari blinked his eyes a few times, he gave Amelia one of his cute smiles, capturing the hearts of everybody in the room. “Hi, baby,” Amelia greeted in a sing-song voice, and made a move to lift the boy into her arms.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster, on the other hand, stretched her little arms in the direction of her father, who looked almost complacent that his daughter wanted to be held by </span>
  <em>
    <span>him </span>
  </em>
  <span>specifically. He picked Aster up and held her close, brushing his finger against her cheek until she gripped it with her tiny fists and refused to release him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re so precious,” Nat remarked, something that everybody in the room readily agreed with.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“God, I still can’t believe you two have </span>
  <em>
    <span>kids,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Tony exclaimed, dragging his fingers through his hair, clearly incredulous from just how adorably perfect the two infants were.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, believe it,” Loki responded bluntly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a few minutes, Amelia surmised that Kari was in a good enough mood to be passed over to Natasha, and did so gently, placing the child in the woman’s awaiting arms. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Say hi to Auntie Nat.” Amelia made sure to stay close by in case Kari got nervous, but it seemed almost immediately apparent that the infant boy was a fan of Natasha if the wondrous look in his eyes was anything to go by. Contrariwise, Nat was just as enraptured by the baby, sporting a smile that stretched across her whole face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What a cutie,” Nat whispered, “look at these curls.” She tickled the ringlets with her fingers, making Kari babble and squeal in a very gleeful way. “Alright, it’s official,” Nat added, “I’d die for this kid.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia snorted, grabbing Kari’s flailing foot and giving it a little shake, “Tell me about it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tony looked at Loki with imploration in his gaze, clearly envious of Natasha and too eager to wait any longer, “Can I hold her, please?” He begged, gesturing to the baby girl in Loki’s arms.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia could tell Loki was about to offer another snarky response, so she gave him a look urging him to behave, to which he rolled his eyes and sighed, before stepping closer to Tony and leaning down to lower Aster into his arms.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t hurt her.” Loki said, an unspoken threat wavering beneath his words.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course I’m not gonna hurt her,” Tony murmured, looking down in awe at the baby as she was placed in his care. Aster clung to Loki’s finger to the point where he had to gently pry her fist away so he could escape her grasp, but once she was safely in Tony’s arms, she redirected her attention and began looking him over with curiosity.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, kiddo,” Tony spoke, smiling wide at the infant’s inquisitiveness, “oh, aren’t you adorable. Got such big eyes there, I can tell it’s gonna be difficult to ever say no to you.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was sweet to hear Tony speak to Aster, and very clear from his words that he was going to strive to do everything he possibly could for the babies to ensure they grew up in a safe environment.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Upon offering his index finger for her to hold like Loki had, she tentatively gripped it in her hands, as if testing whether it was a good finger to latch onto in her shockingly strong fists, before deciding that indeed it was.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oof, you’re pretty strong for a three month old,” Tony chuckled, booping her chin with the tip of his finger, and he almost bounced out of his seat when she gave him a subtle smile, “oh you did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>just smile at me. That’s it. I’m giving you everything you ever ask for. You want a pony? I’ll get you a pony. A spaceship? A mansion? Name it, it’s yours.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari and Aster sure were lucky to have the Avengers as their essentially extended family; without a grandmother or grandfather alive on either side of the family, having Tony, Nat and the others present in their lives was absolutely a blessing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki and Amelia weren’t going to be alone in raising the twins, they would have plenty of help, and for that Amelia was endlessly grateful.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Aster was handed on to Bruce, she made a precise grab for his glasses, pulling them eagerly from his face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, careful. She likes stealing glasses,” Amelia warned a little too late. There had been many times while holding Aster where the baby had made a habit of appropriating Amelia’s eyewear.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks for letting me know,” Bruce responded with playful sarcasm, trying to pinch his specs back from the child. Aster probably wouldn’t give them up too easily.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Natasha eventually gave Kari to Steve, who had waited patiently for his turn to hold the baby, and Amelia watched the infant stare up at the blond-haired, blue-eyed Avengers for all of ten seconds before he began to scream with his mighty pair of lungs.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What did you do?” Loki was quick on the accusation.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t do anything!” Steve responded, looking dismayed and a little lost at Kari’s reaction to him. He tried gently patting the child’s tummy in a way he thought was comforting, but let out a sigh when Kari did not cease his vociferous wailing. “I’ve… never been good with young children,” he murmured over the incredible volume emitting from the baby.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He’ll get used to you,” Amelia smiled apologetically, “he’s just not used to loads of new faces.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Here, let me-” Clint quickly intercepted, lifting Kari from Steve’s arms, and Amelia saw Loki visibly jerk in the corner of her vision, his back going rigid as he burned his gaze into the man’s face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Clint seemed to know what he was doing, Amelia wasn’t worried about him accidentally hurting Kari as he knew to be careful, and Amelia didn’t share Loki’s apparent dislike of the man.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Folding Kari’s arms against his chest, Clint secured them there with his hand before supporting the infant’s bottom with his other hand, and held him at a slight angle before beginning to rock him gently. Moments later, Kari was completely quiet, looking almost completely pacified by the motion.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia’s jaw dropped open, “What are you, a wizard?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Neat trick, huh? Learned it after having my second kid,” Clint revealed, looking smugly at Steve, “guaranteed happy baby in five seconds or less.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wish we’d known </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>for the past three months,” Amelia murmured, still in a state of amazement, “you gotta teach me exactly how to do that.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure.” Clint gave the baby a little smile.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki finally moved after minutes of standing like he had a rod up his ass, and let out a barely audible grumble as he walked around the back of the sofa where Clint was standing and promptly took the child back, glaring at the man as he held Kari to his chest. Clint didn’t resist at all, easily letting Loki take his son back, but he did return the none-too-friendly look he had received.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia rolled her eyes at the constant rivalry between the two of them, wondering if they’d ever really get along.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” Amelia announced, clearing the atmosphere that had manifested as a result of the two men, “I want to get Kari and Aster settled. They’re probably gonna take a good long nap, but we’ll bring them back later this afternoon.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Tony looked mildly disappointed that the babies were being taken away from the group so soon, but he quickly got over it, nodding in understanding, “Of course, you get yourselves sorted. Just give us a call if you need anything, I’m happy to help.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe later I can get acquainted with Aster?” Natasha asked with subtle hopefulness.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Absolutely, I’m sure she’ll love you,” Amelia grinned and turned to Steve, “and you’ll probably have better luck holding Aster - she’s pretty quiet compared to her brother.” Steve looked optimistic that he’d have better luck with the second baby.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With that, Amelia and Loki carried Aster and Kari out of the communal room and headed to the elevator where they could return to their room that had been vacant for three months; while Amelia did love the huge bed in Asgard, she was glad to be back at the Tower. It was the same feeling as coming back from a long vacation - the relief of returning to a more familiar environment was bubbling up inside her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Once in the lift, Amelia opened her mouth to quietly reprimand Loki for his brash attitude towards Clint, but he beat her to the punch.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you see the way he snatched Kari from Rogers without warning? Abysmal, it’s hard to believe that clown has three children when he treats them like stuffed toys.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia blinked, “He wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>rough. You’re just seeing into it because you don’t like him, for some reason.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki looked mildly affronted that Amelia would take Clint’s side, “He should’ve asked to hold him.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You would’ve said no anyway,” Amelia pointed out with a quirked eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, and?” Loki replied.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re ridiculous. You’re gonna have to get over your bias against him, Loki,” Amelia’s tone became a tad more serious, “I don’t want you teaching our children to dislike him, you hear me?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki frowned, looking down at Kari who was now peacefully snoozing in the crook of his elbow, but didn’t bless Amelia’s question with a response. Amelia let it go for now, but she wouldn’t be so lenient if Loki was so blatantly rude to Clint again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope a lot of people are still enjoying this story. I didn't get as many comments as usual on the last chapter and it made me worry that I might be doing something wrong, so if you do read and enjoy this story, I would really appreciate if you left a comment &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. A Fresh Understanding</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Amelia decides to ask Clint about the tension between him and Loki.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You guys are WONDERFUL. All those comments on the last chapter literally made me so happy and I want to give each and every one of you a virtual hug because it was so so lovely to see all your kind words and ahhhhhhh thank you so much &lt;3</p>
<p>I apologise for the gap between this chapter and the last, but I discovered Hamilton: The Musical on Disney+ and basically I have watched it 6 times in a week because I'm obsessed with it. I KNOW I should've been writing but you guys... it's so amazing LOL. Anyway, I'll be more focused on writing for the next few weeks because I'm off work starting next Monday because it is my BIRTHDAAAAAAAAAAAAY! July 27th, and I'll be turning 27, heck yeah!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Since the initial day Loki and Amelia had brought the twins home to Avengers Tower, Amelia had spent a lot of time silently wondering just why Loki and Clint seemed to hate each other so much. They treated each other unkindly, speaking snappily whenever they were forced to acknowledge the other’s existence, and ignoring each other the rest of the time. Amelia just didn’t get it, Loki had mostly warmed to the others since living in the tower, but there was still unexplainable bad blood between Loki and Clint.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, Amelia decided: </span>
  <em>
    <span>why not ask?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But when she broached the subject to Loki, he brushed it off and shrugged it off, telling her that Clint was just a fool, and that is why he hated him. She wasn’t going to get a straight answer from her husband, so she went to the only other person who could give her a satisfactory response.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Clint, can I talk to you for a minute?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The man in question looked surprised that Amelia had something she needed to talk with him about, and even shot Natasha a look with his raised eyebrows, silently asking if she knew what it was about. Natasha looked just as confused.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure,” Clint said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia pointed back out of the room, “Privately?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Another wave of fresh confusion rolled over the man, “Uh, okay.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia led him out of the communal living room and down the hallway a bit so that they were out of earshot from any of the others.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If this is about what happened the other day with Kari, I wasn’t being rough with the kid, and I’m not apologising to Lo-” Clint was cut-off mid sentence.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not asking you to apologise, I’m in agreement that you did nothing wrong. Loki overreacted.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” Clint blinked and glanced around, “where is he, anyway?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia looked sheepish for a moment, “He’s in the nursery with the kids… thinks I just came down to get some food.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I see. So what did you want to talk about?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” Amelia began, pausing to think her words over - she wanted to know the truth, and she hoped Clint would be willing to explain, unlike her husband, because if not it would drive her up the wall, “I want to know the reason you and Loki hate each other.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Unexpectedly, Clint chuckled, seemingly amused by the question. “I don’t hate Loki,” he said simply, “I don’t like him, not by a long shot, but I don’t hate him.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It hadn’t been what Amelia was anticipating, and she looked at him dumbly for a few moments before amending her question, “Okay… why do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>dislike </span>
  </em>
  <span>him?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Clint stared at her face then for a worryingly long time, observing her closely, but before it got to an absurdly long point, he sighed, “Has he really never gone into it?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Has he ever talked in detail about what happened? Back in 2012, with the invasion?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” Amelia shrugged her shoulders meekly, “not </span>
  <em>
    <span>incredible </span>
  </em>
  <span>detail.” A feeling of discomfort was setting into Amelia’s stomach as Clint’s inquiry reminded her that there were still many things she didn’t know about her own husband, who she was married to, with two children. It seemed as though she </span>
  <em>
    <span>should </span>
  </em>
  <span>have known what Clint was getting at, but Loki was very furtive when it came to the bad things he had done in the past.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia didn’t really blame him, of course. She knew Loki was a different person than he was back then, and that he was ashamed of the things he had done. She hadn’t needed to know more than that back then, but her curiosity was getting the better of her; a small part of her, however, was afraid to know.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Clint looked as though he didn’t want to reveal exactly what Loki had done, for fear that it might put a dent in her and Loki’s relationship, but Amelia took a deep breath, knowing there was nothing he could say that would change how she felt about her husband.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Just tell me,” she said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Clint peered back over his shoulder briefly. “He used the mind stone on me, took away my free will and forced me to kill people that opposed him.” He said the words quietly and succinctly, revealing just enough information and nothing more; Amelia could discern exactly why Clint felt the way he did towards Loki. “He’s never apologised, never shown me any remorse. I’ve had no reason to warm to him.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia had known it wasn’t going to be anything good, but hearing the words from Clint made her feel nauseous, and she eyed the floor at her feet for a few seconds, unable to look him in the eye. She understood at once why Clint had such an aversion to Loki, but she couldn’t understand why Loki returned the sentiment just as harshly. Loki was the one who had wronged Clint, not the other way around.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“R-right. Thank you for telling me,” Amelia stammered, nodding her head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Clint hesitantly stepped back and turned away to return to the living room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Amelia added hastily, because she </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> sorry. She was sorry Clint had had to go through that - it must have been a truly horrifying ordeal, and she couldn’t imagine just how it had affected him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Clint looked back at her, “You’re really not the one who should be apologising.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia didn’t waste any time mulling around and instead went straight back to the nursery to talk to Loki about what she had learned. She spent the entire walk back to the room trying to figure out how to word her questions so that her husband didn’t feel like he was being judged or interrogated, but Amelia wasn’t the best at coming up with elegant sentences. Everything she thought up in her head sounded blunt, and there didn’t seem to be any way to broach the subject without causing Loki some distress.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She hesitated at the door, hearing the sound of Kari squealing, and let out a quiet sigh before sliding open the door and stepping into the room. Despite the thoughts whirling in her head, she couldn’t help but smile at the scene before her; both her children and her husband were lying on the floor rug on their stomachs, Loki propped up on his elbows while Kari and Aster lifted their heads just a little off the floor to look at him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They were growing stronger every day. Amelia had been awed the first time they had used their arms to push their heads up, completely overjoyed by the development. Truly, she was becoming more and more excited every day when she noticed the babies doing something new - something learned.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki idly shook a rattling toy before them, urging them to reach for it, “You want the rattle? Take it from me.” Kari babbled while Aster kicked her legs, but it didn’t seem yet like either of them could figure out just how to move in order to grab the toy - it made sense as it was still early days, but Loki was always talking about how he wanted to teach them everything early, convinced that they inherited his brawn and brains, and thus knew they would be able to figure everything out ahead of the normal development of human children.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>While Kari and Aster both seemed to be very smart babies, Amelia doubted they were miracle workers, but she supposed there was no harm in </span>
  <em>
    <span>trying </span>
  </em>
  <span>to teach them things like mobility and how to leverage their bodies in order to obtain toys.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The thought made Amelia chuckle. They were only fourteen weeks old, but Loki continued to talk to them and treat them as if they were older. His desire to pass on knowledge to his children simply couldn’t wait.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How are my sweetpeas doing?” Amelia greeted in a sing-song voice, kneeling on the rug beside them. Their eyes followed her as she came closer, and they visibly reacted to her presence, anticipating the cuddles their mama was going to give them. Amongst their coos, Amelia leaned down and kissed them both on the forehead, nuzzling her nose against the wisps of hair on their scalps. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Kari almost rolled over a little while ago,” Loki informed, continuing to shake the rattling toy, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“almost,</span>
  </em>
  <span> not quite. I tried to get him to roll all the way, but I don’t think he wants to listen to his father.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia snorted, “Maybe he’ll listen to </span>
  <em>
    <span>me. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hey, Kari, you wanna show off your strong muscles and roll onto your back for mama? If you do, I’ll give you a cookie… when you’re old enough to eat it, that is.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari babbled at the attention, blowing a small bubble from the droll accumulating at his mouth, but remained very comfortable on his belly, making no move to shimmy and shift.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Looks like he’s not listening to </span>
  <em>
    <span>either </span>
  </em>
  <span>of us,” Amelia exclaimed with faux shock, “what a little </span>
  <em>
    <span>rebel.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She lightly tickled the baby’s side and he gave a happy squeal in response, pulling a laugh from his mother’s throat. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her laughter died down after a few seconds as she remembered the little dilemma she had been mulling over and she sighed, sitting upright and fiddling with her hands in her lap; she felt Loki’s eyes on her at once, and grew even more awkward at his insistent stare in her peripheral vision. How was she going to begin?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, what’s wrong?” Loki squinted suspiciously at her, evidently taking some of the pressure off of Amelia - at least she didn’t have to uncomfortably be the one to bring up that there was an issue she wanted to talk over.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I spoke with Clint downstairs a few minutes ago.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki had no outward reaction to her words, but his eyes did not sway from her, and he looked almost like a statue, waiting for her to go on.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I wanted to know why things were so bad between you guys,” Amelia began, eyeing Loki for even the slightest twitch that might betray what he was feeling as she spoke on, “and he told me about what happened… back in 2012, during the… the, uh, invasion.” She flushed, realising that she hated to bring up the topic just as much as Loki, but she knew it needed to be discussed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He told me about the sceptre, that it had the mind stone in it…” Amelia was suddenly very aware that Loki was </span>
  <em>
    <span>glaring, </span>
  </em>
  <span>not quite at her, but more at the space between them, and that he must have been stewing in his thoughts to have such a weirdly unresponsive expression. Amelia pressed on reluctantly, “He said that you… controlled his mind… and made him do things he didn’t wanna do.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s vision sharpened, eyes twitching with negative emotions, and he snapped at her for the first time in many, many months, “You’ve always known I had done terrible things. I’ve never tried to hide that fact.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia was quick to clarify. “I’m not angry,” she gently told him, leaning forwards to lay a hand on his arm, but he shrugged it off and diverted his gaze. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Perhaps it hadn’t been a good idea to bring it up right in front of the babies; Amelia didn’t want to cause them any distress and she probably should’ve expected that </span>
  <em>
    <span>somebody </span>
  </em>
  <span>might raise their voice or start speaking in harsher tones. Aster and Kari merely stared at them with their wide eyes, no smiles and no babbling.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t bring this up to upset you,” Amelia began, “I just wanted to get to the bottom of it - I did try asking you, but you wouldn’t tell me anything.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m going to kill that son of a bitch,” Loki growled.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, you aren’t, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>swear in front of the kids!” Amelia hissed, making the move to cover their ears before glumly registering that she only had two hands while there were four innocent ears that needed to be protected. “Look, he didn’t want to tell me at first, probably thought it would be bad for our relationship, but listen - me </span>
  <em>
    <span>knowing </span>
  </em>
  <span>the specifics of what you did doesn’t change anything between us, okay? I know you’ve done bad things, but I also know that’s in the past. You aren’t that person anymore, and I love you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If it doesn’t change anything, then why are we talking about it?” Loki asked rigidly. He had stopped shaking the rattling toy, pinching it between his thumb and forefinger, as he stared down at his wriggly babies with a furrowed brow.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia tilted her head and frowned. It seemed there was nothing she could say to nudge Loki out of his grumpy state, so she decided to just get to the point.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What Clint told me explains his dislike of you, but not your dislike of him. So why do you not like him?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki looked at Amelia like she was dumb, “I already told you. Because he’s a moron.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, that’s not a good enough excuse to hate someone.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, it is.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m pretty sure you called me a moron several times when we first met, but that didn’t seem to stop you from falling in love with me,” Amelia pointed out with a subtle smirk.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki rolled his eyes and was silent for a few moments, until eventually he spoke again, quiet and blunt, “He humiliated me once, shot me out of the sky with a damn explosive arrow, and thanks to him, I proceeded to get thrown around by the Hulk.” He paused, and then added even more quietly, “It fucking hurt.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, firstly, </span>
  <em>
    <span>stop </span>
  </em>
  <span>swearing in front of the children, they have brains like sponges, you know. And secondly, </span>
  <em>
    <span>when </span>
  </em>
  <span>did that all happen?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki shrugged his shoulders, “During the invasion.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh.” Amelia blinked, and then frowned, “Let me get this straight. You hate him because he shot you out of the sky, which led to you getting apprehended by the Avengers back in 2012?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“More or less.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia scratched her head and squinted at her husband, “Okay, but, you do realise that if he hadn’t done that… these two probably wouldn’t be here right now, right?” She motioned the gurgling babies laying before them on the rug.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki looked away, staring out the window to the blue sky above, and Amelia could tell that he knew she was right given his silence. It was so telling.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I still hate him because he’s a moron though,” Loki murmured, and this time Amelia snorted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Right, well, I want you to say sorry for what you did to him back then.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki flung around, looking almost offended at the mere idea of apologising, “I’m not apologising to him.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But </span>
  <em>
    <span>why? </span>
  </em>
  <span>He told me you’ve never apologised for what you did and you </span>
  <em>
    <span>should, </span>
  </em>
  <span>because whether you like it or not, Clint’s gonna be present in the lives of your children as they grow up - do you have any idea how difficult things are going to be for them if you and him continue with this dumb feud you have going?” Amelia’s frustration was evident, but she tried her best to keep a level voice in the presence of the babies, knowing that anything more would probably cause them distress. They were very attuned to the emotions of their parents, Amelia had noted on several different occasions.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not that simple, Amelia. I’m not apologising to him.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia exhaled out of her nose. Sometimes convincing her husband to have minimal decency was like trying to move mountains, he was too stubborn and clearly knew how to hold a grudge - which got Amelia thinking.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” Amelia said, drawing Loki’s attention to her, “If I can forgive you for causing the death of my brother, you can forgive Clint for stopping your senseless rampage.” She knew it was a low blow, and she regretted delivering it so spitefully, because she immediately saw the upset in his gaze. He practically flinched at the mention of her brother, woeful at the reminder that he had caused her that pain.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki wasn’t even looking at the babies now. His eyes were burning into the floor with shame.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I just…” Amelia began more gently, “I want you to try and be nicer to Clint. For the sake of Kari and Aster. Please?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki didn’t answer. Amelia wasn’t able to add anything more to that before she heard the sound of the rattle being shaken excitedly, and both she and Loki looked to see Aster had managed to shimmy forward on her belly and snatch the toy from his hand, and was now waving it around in victory.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It broke the tension in the room immediately, and Loki was more than happy to leave his and Amelia’s conversation at the door in favour of praising Aster for her achievement. “Good girl,” Loki pinched Aster’s cheek gently, and the little girl quickly shoved the rattle-toy in her mouth to try and chew on it. Kari looked just as happy for his sister, squealing and smiling in a way Amelia saw as adorably supportive.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The issue simmered down, replaced by a more positive feeling induced by the children being cute and lovable, and it melted the stress away. Amelia sighed, and then managed a small smile as she gently patted Kari on the back; her talk with Loki could wait till later, for now the children deserved some cuddles and attention.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you enjoyed this lovelies &lt;3 Would love to hear what you think in the comments, and if you have ideas, I'm still taking them! I can always use some prompts to help me out xD And I'll try and be quicker with the updates for the next few chapters cause as I said, I have time off work and I wanna get ahead with this story :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Windows to the Past</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Your comments always make me so happy. I got inspired to write this follow up chapter from the last one - it's a tad shorter but still sweet ^_^ I hope you all enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>After the little argument Amelia and Loki had had, there were very few spoken words between them for the hours that followed, not because either of them thought the silent treatment was the way to go, but more out of the fact that they both needed time to cool down and go through the thoughts in their heads before addressing the disagreement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t until that evening, when the children were drifting off to sleep, that Amelia felt ready to talk about it. The question was, did Loki feel ready to talk about it? She was worried that if she sprung her words on him too early, he would be pushed away instead of pulled in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia had fed the babies several minutes prior, and Loki had taken Kari from her, who was still a little bit whiny, while Amelia had laid the very sleepy Aster in her crib at the foot of the bed. Loki continued to rock Kari in an effort to soothe him to sleep as he paced around the room, and Amelia sat on the edge of their bed, filled with a sudden urge to reach under the bed and grab something that was very dear to her, secreted in a fancy wooden box.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was her brother’s photo album, well taken care of and in pristine condition. Amelia retrieved it from time to time whenever she found herself missing Aaron - it was unavoidable that evening, as Amelia had thoughtlessly brought him up earlier that day in the midst of the argument, and had proceeded to not stop thinking about him since.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If Loki’s mother had crossed over the boundary of death to pay her grandchildren a visit, Amelia wondered if maybe there was a chance Aaron had checked up on his niece and nephew at any point. As much as she hoped it was a possibility, the more rational and skeptical side of her thought it was highly unlikely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Frigga was a magical being, the wife of a Norse god, the once-queen of Asgard, and she had entered Valhalla upon her death, according to Loki, whereas Aaron was just a non-magical human. Did humans even get to enter Valhalla? Was there an equivalent of paradise for humans?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She stopped the train of thought. Now was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>the time to get existential - it would only put her mood down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sound of Kari making a noise of dismay pulled Amelia’s attention across the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, hey, what’s gotten into you?” She heard Loki whisper as he bounced the infant gently in his arms, “You’re tired, aren’t you? Go to sleep, little one. We can play again tomorrow.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia smiled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite her husband’s stubbornness and frustration, he was very good at turning on dad mode and talking to his children in just the right way, and despite Amelia’s exasperation towards him for what occurred earlier, she couldn’t help but feel warmth rush through her at just how soft Loki was with Kari.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Looking back down to the photo album, Amelia opened up to the first page to be greeted with a slightly faded polaroid of her mother holding her as a baby, wrapped up in a bundle of blankets. The photo was dated as being a couple weeks after she was born, and her mother had the biggest grin on her face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, mum, if you could see me now, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia thought longingly. She had certainly grown a lot since the day the image was taken, and Amelia would’ve given anything to let her mother meet Kari and Aster.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia turned to the next page and her eyes pinned to the photo of herself, once again no older than a few weeks, in the arms of her eight-year old brother who looked to be taking so much care not to hurt her as he cradled her gently, looking down at her like she was his whole world.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even though he had died eight years ago, that grief did sometimes come back to stew in her mind, and when it did, Amelia kept it to herself. She couldn’t very well bring it up to Loki, for obvious reasons, so she squeezed her eyelids down and forced herself not to cry. It was astounding how long one could remain affected by the loss of a loved one.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia felt the bed dip suddenly and had just enough time to quickly flip to the next page before Loki pressed his chest to her back and pulled her flush against him; he breathed a warm sigh against her neck and nuzzled his nose against her shoulder, wordlessly apologising for their little argument from earlier that day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You managed to get Kari to sleep then?” Amelia whispered, furtively blinking away the moisture that had briefly welled up in her eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki hummed, brushing his lips against his wife’s neck, “He didn’t seem to want to nod off so easily, but we got there in the end.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia was impressed Aster had slept through Kari’s fussing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good. When he wakes up again in a few hours, you can figure out how to send him off to sleep again.” Amelia turned her head, a small smile on her face, and Loki responded by seizing the opportunity to kiss her lips.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia cut the kiss a little short as she remembered she was still frustrated with what had transpired earlier, and Loki looked a bit dispirited to be denied a more satisfying kiss. He fell silent while Amelia gazed down at the old photographs, and let out another big sigh before nudging her ear with his nose.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry for earlier.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Inwardly, Amelia smirked, but outwardly, she snorted in sardonic amusement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can apologise to me but not to Clint?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I care about your feelings. I do not care about Barton’s.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well you should. He’s your teammate, remember?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I would hardly call him my teammate.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia wrenched her shoulder away, dislodging Loki’s chin from its resting spot, and tensed in growing frustration. She was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>having this argument again, not after she’d spent the day cooling down and had only just succeeded in getting the babies to sleep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki quickly backtracked, “Amelia, I’m not going to apologise to him, but-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But if it makes you happy, I will… </span>
  <em>
    <span>try </span>
  </em>
  <span>and be… </span>
  <em>
    <span>nicer.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He practically shuddered at the thought of not being a complete asshole towards Clint, but it was a development, and probably the best compromise they could come to terms with at that moment. Loki cuddled Amelia tighter against his chest, silently asking for her forgiveness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia exhaled loudly and let the silence hang a little longer than necessary before giving a minute nod. “Please </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>try.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now that Loki was a tad more relaxed, he finally took in the sight of the photo album in her hands, looking over the various pictures of younger Amelia with her mother and brother. He absorbed the images quietly, until he stifled a snort when he spotted the photo of a very grumpy looking four-year-old Amelia dressed as a pumpkin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why are you wearing this?” Loki asked, pointing at the page.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was for Halloween. I wanted to be Cinderella, hence the very unhappy look on my face. Aaron insisted on dressing me up like a damn pumpkin though.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Halloween?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sometimes Amelia forgot that Loki didn’t know a lot about human festivals and holidays, and given they had never celebrated it in the time Amelia had known him, she couldn’t really blame him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“On October 31st, kids - and adults, I guess - dress up as monsters or princesses or anything they want, and they go door to door to get candy from strangers.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That sounds like an awful idea.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia smiled, “Well, my brother and I always got lots and lots of candy, so we clearly didn’t see a problem with it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where do Midgardians get their ideas for these festivals?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Beats me.” Amelia shrugged her shoulders and let out a big yawn. Deciding it was time to close the photo album and curl up in bed, she extricated herself from Loki’s strong arms with a little extra effort - he didn’t really want to let her go - and placed the album safely back in the confines of the bedside cabinet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She stood and pulled her shirt off over her head, throwing it into the laundry basket with the intent of searching the drawers for her pyjama top, but Loki gave a pleased hum and it made her stop what she was doing. Looking back curiously, she saw Loki unashamedly trying to get an eyeful of her breasts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Teasingly, Amelia folded her arms over her chest, putting on a stern expression.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Amelia.” Loki looked expectantly at her arms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, sorry. Am I blocking your view?” Her eyebrows rose.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was Loki’s turn to pout. He slumped against the pillows, lying back on the bed with an anticipatory stare, and beckoned Amelia towards him with a curled finger.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh, he was in </span>
  <em>
    <span>the mood.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia looked at the cots, wondering if she and her husband could manage to be quiet enough to have an intimate moment and not wake up the babies. It would most certainly ruin the mood in an instant if their fun was interrupted by high-pitched cries. She and Loki hadn’t gotten any time alone since the babies were born, so Amelia couldn’t blame Loki if he was about ready to blow. She herself had been wondering when they’d get the opportunity to have sex again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We can be quiet,” Loki answered, practically reading her mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia smirked, rolling her eyes. She definitely wasn’t averse to the idea.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on,” Loki continued with a slight lilt in his quiet voice, “arms down, give me a twirl, love.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a shake of her head, Amelia giggled, letting her arms fall to her sides to reveal her nude chest to her husband. She assumed she probably didn’t look as spectacular as she had several months ago, long before she had given birth to twins, but she also knew that Loki never showed any aversion to stretch marks and other blemishes that were out of her control, so she wasn’t exactly worried.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>However, she did think Loki was putting on the theatrics a little when he pressed his lips into an ‘O’ shape and exhaled slowly, looking her body over like she was on goddess levels of beauty.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve seen me like this a thousand times,” Amelia pointed out, tilting her head to the side and placing her hands on her hips.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve seen the sunset a thousand times as well. It doesn’t make it any less enthralling.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And just like that, Amelia was ready to let the man before her do whatever he wanted with her - with a line like </span>
  <em>
    <span>that, </span>
  </em>
  <span>how could she say no?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She crossed the room swiftly but quietly and climbed onto the bed, crawling over her husband to kiss him fervently; his lips formed a smile as she did so, and his hands began to wander. Fingertips ghosted over her hips, moving around and up her stomach, travelling suggestively higher.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When he cupped her breasts, Amelia broke the kiss to speak playfully, “You be careful with those, they’re for the children.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki snickered, giving her sensitive nipples a pinch. In return, she batted his hand away and tugged at his nightshirt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You, sir, are overdressed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be so certain, little dove,” Loki responded in a low tone, and Amelia had to immediately swallow a squeak at the reminder of the very filthy dream her imagination had cooked up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If I have to stay quiet, you’re gonna have to </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>call me that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmm,” he hummed, “what a shame.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In one swift movement, Loki rolled them over so that he was crouched predatorily above his wife, looking very much like a starving man who was about to devour a three-course meal, but as he dipped down to begin kissing a trail up between Amelia’s breasts, the sound of Kari stirring had them both going rigid to avoid making any noise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For a moment, it seemed like Kari would settle again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But that moment passed, and instead he began to sniffle and whine louder and louder; Amelia let her head fall back against the pillow in resignation and let out a sigh, pouting as she stared up at the ceiling. It had been no longer than twenty minutes since Loki had laid him down to sleep, that had to be a new record for the shortest nap.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’d better pick him up before he wakes Aster,” Amelia murmured to Loki, who had flopped down to sulk against her chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He made a noise of agreement and slipped off the bed, approaching Kari’s crib as he gently shushed the boy, urging him to quieten down. “I’m here, little one. Don’t cry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia frowned, shifting up to sit against the headboard. He’d been fussy and slow to settle a little while ago, not quite ready to go to sleep. He’d been changed just a short while ago and had fed before drifting off, so what could his problem be?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Amelia sighed, looking down at her breasts, “since these are out anyway, might as well see if he’s still hungry.” She smiled almost apologetically as Loki carried Kari over to her, knowing her husband had been excited to have a little fun. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia looked down at Kari with a false pouty face as soon as he was handed over, “Aww, what’s got you all upset, hmm? Are you still hungry? Are you gonna calm down and let mummy and daddy have a little time to themselves or not?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The baby answered with an unintelligible whimper and was already trying to latch on to her nipple and start drinking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Guess that answers that question, huh?”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope I didn't get your hopes up too much with the way that chapter was ending. I promise we'll circle back to a sexy chapter later on in the fic ;)</p><p>Thank you for reading! If you're enjoying this story, please show your appreciation in the comments!</p><p>IN THE NEXT CHAPTER: Kari just WILL NOT stop crying :(</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. I'll Be Right Here</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>For some reason, Kari won't stop crying. Except when he's in his mother's arms.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I didn't get as many comments on the last chapter. I hope I get more feedback on this chapter - I made it one of the longer ones ;)</p>
<p>For those who did comment on the last chapter, and those of you who comment on EVERY chapter, I just want to say a big heartfelt thank you for doing so. It gives me a boost of serotonin whenever I see a new comment, which absolutely keeps this fic afloat. If it wasn't for you all, there wouldn't be four fics in this series :')</p>
<p>I hope you all enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It began the next morning, where, like most other mornings, both Kari and Aster roused from their slumber and began to whine and cry. Their cries were usually for a multitude of reasons - whether they were hungry, needed changing, wanted attention, or were still a bit sleepy - but they always tended to calm down after most of these needs were met.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster would usually stop crying first, because she was generally the quieter of the two and was only wailing because her brother was being too noisy, and then Kari would calm down and become his usual happy self.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This morning, however, Kari just didn’t stop.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Unless </span>
  </em>
  <span>his mother was holding him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After Loki had failed to calm him, he had handed the boy to Amelia, and Kari had been promptly soothed. Loki had rolled his eyes after Amelia joked that Kari liked her better, and had turned his attention to Aster instead, dressing her in a light green onesie as she sucked on a pacifier and wriggled around in a lively sort of way.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Once Amelia felt it was time to get out of bed and get changed, she gave Kari a little boop on the nose and then asked Loki to take him while she got herself dressed. Unfortunately, when Loki placed Aster safely back in her crib to take Kari from his wife, the boy began to cry again, practically the </span>
  <em>
    <span>second </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia’s hands were no longer touching him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe he really does like you better,” Loki supposed, quirking one eyebrow as he gazed down at the clamorous child, rocking him back and forth in an attempt to calm him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s just a mama’s boy,” Amelia responded, feeling the pressure to dress a little quicker so that she could take Kari back and soothe him once again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki tried holding Kari upright to his shoulder instead, but it only succeeded in causing the screaming to enter directly into his ear; he frowned at the baby, lips pulling into a subtle pout, and attempted to talk to him, “It’s just me. Why are you crying? I’m not an ogre.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari only screamed louder.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, okay, give him back to me,” Amelia instructed, rushing to button up her jeans before holding her arms out. As they had predicted, Kari’s deafening cries ceased immediately as he was once again placed in the care of his mother.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I see how it is,” Loki remarked with false offense, returning to Aster’s crib to pluck the girl up; she held up her arms in anticipation of being held by her father, an action that Amelia did not happen to miss.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey. Aster clearly likes </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>better. She’s just quiet about it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki snorted in amusement, kissing his daughter’s forehead tenderly. He and Amelia were, at that moment, blissfully unaware of the day they were about to have.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>By lunch time, Kari’s tearful disposition was becoming quite the problem. Amelia couldn’t hold onto Kari </span>
  <em>
    <span>every </span>
  </em>
  <span>minute of the day - she needed to be able to go to the bathroom or cook a meal or simply have a few quiet moments to herself, and she couldn’t do it all with a baby in her arms. Which meant, inevitably, she had to put up with intervals of inexplicable wailing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Presently, Amelia was sitting on the couch in the communal room, slumped forward with her elbows leaning on her knees, staring at the screaming baby who was sitting in his carrier right in front of her at her feet.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Baby, I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>right </span>
  </em>
  <span>here,” Amelia murmured, still completely uncertain as to why Kari was inconsolable whenever he wasn’t in mama’s arms. He’d been needy for attention before but </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>was just a little bit ridiculous, and it was beginning to worry Amelia that there might be some sort of underlying problem.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He refused to suck on a pacifier, spitting them out whenever one was placed in his mouth, and no amount of soft, cuddly toys or rattles could soothe him either.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe he’s tired?” Tony suggested with uncertainty, which garnered weary looks from both Amelia and Loki, “Uh, or not? Just… putting out ideas.” He had to raise his voice to speak over Kari’s clamorous volume.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ve tried everything, he’s never cried for this long,” Loki pointed out, peering down at Aster to check up on her. She was also in her carrier, a big frown on her face, probably getting a little put off by the racket her brother was making; it was likely only a matter of time before it became too much for her and cause her to start crying too.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And he’s definitely not hungry or in need of a new diaper?” Steve inquired.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki merely glared at the man, answering his question wordlessly. Of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course </span>
  </em>
  <span>they’d tried changing and feeding him. His diaper was clean and he’d drank his fill of milk, but the moment he was out of his mother’s arms, the weeping began anew.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What if he’s in pain?” Amelia murmured anxiously, reaching down to caress Kari’s cheek. The baby clung to the offered hand, his bawling stalling for just a moment before he realised she wasn’t going to actually pick him up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t think that’s it,” Bruce spoke up, “I don’t know a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot </span>
  </em>
  <span>about babies, but if he was in pain, surely he would continue to cry even as you hold him. The fact that he only cries when you put him down suggests to me that he... well, he just doesn’t want you to put him down.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But… but </span>
  <em>
    <span>why?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia worried her lower lip between her teeth, “I don’t understand why he’s just started acting like this today. He was totally fine yesterday.” He had been a bit snivelly before bed the previous night, but they’d managed to get him to sleep without too much trouble.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe it’s colic,” Bruce shrugged his shoulders, “but that usually doesn’t progress past four months, and tends to begin a few weeks after birth…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What is colic?” Loki frowned.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s when a baby cries a lot for no apparent reason,” Bruce explained succinctly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, that certainly seems to be the case here,” Loki stated with a hint of frustration, motioning an accusatory hand toward the screaming infant.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia groaned in agitation - she didn’t want to have to deal with a moody Loki as well as a moody baby, so she gave in and picked Kari up into her arms, sighing in relief when the child grew quiet and content. The sound of a baby’s cry was just so distressing and difficult to ignore, and she felt awful just watching Kari whimper and whine.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She held Kari to her shoulder, rubbing his back with gentle circles, and Kari began to babble in a much happier way.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah. He definitely just wants to be held by you,” Tony concluded from what he had just witnessed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia was half hoping Clint would magically turn up and do his little baby-calming trick he had done the other day to get Kari to stop crying, but both he and Natasha were away on a minor mission and wouldn’t return to the tower until late that night. She wasn’t entirely sure she had the willpower to hold out until then.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki placed down his mother’s old journal with a sigh of resignation; he’d been hoping to find answers, that maybe there had been a time where he had spent hours inconsolably crying as an infant, and that his mother had found a solution, but there wasn’t any indication upon the old, frayed pages that such a thing had occurred.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He glanced to his left, where Amelia was sitting upright against her headboard of the bed, eyes closed, while Kari slept in her arms, and wondered for a moment if he’d get away with taking the child to his crib without causing him to stir. Amelia was exhausted and in dire need of restful sleep, but they could only manage to get Kari to sleep for less than an hour before he woke up again searching for his mother, unless he was sleeping </span>
  <em>
    <span>in </span>
  </em>
  <span>her arms. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki shifted gently, rose from the bed and walked around to the other side with the intent of taking Kari from his wife’s arms, but as soon as his fingers brushed Amelia’s, she spoke rigidly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t, he’ll wake up.” She opened her tired eyes, blinking miserably up at Loki.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You need to get some sleep, love,” Loki argued softly, waiting expectantly for her to acquiesce, but she shook her head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I won’t be able to sleep if he’s crying.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And you can’t sleep while holding him.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know what to do,” Amelia tearfully admitted. Loki was well aware the sound of Kari’s cries was practically painful to her, and that was why she was so unwilling to hand the boy over, because she would have to endure the sound of Kari’s desperation and need while unable to provide the constant attention he desired.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll figure something out,” Loki decided, “I’ll go for a walk, see if I can find some way to soothe him. You just worry about getting some sleep, alright?” In a way, Amelia was lucky that Loki wasn’t Midgardian, because if he was mortal, he may have been as exhausted as Amelia looked, and then they </span>
  <em>
    <span>both </span>
  </em>
  <span>would’ve been at their wit’s end.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That wasn’t to say Loki was confident he could figure out what little Kari needed, but he hoped that if all else failed, Kari would slowly tire himself out on their walk through the city - Loki had heard from multiple sources that background noise was good for sending children to sleep, so he hoped it would work on this occasion.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia seemed hesitant, but ultimately nodded her head and allowed Loki to take Kari, she tensed in anticipation, waiting for the crying to start, but blessedly the boy did not stir immediately. It was only a matter of time though, Loki knew full well, so he gently placed Kari in his carrier seat and slipped into the disguise he’d started using in public.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There had been an incident the previous week where he had almost been recognised while he was out with both Amelia and the children, which would have been disastrous in his mind, so Amelia had suggested a light disguise would work. A simple hair tie and a pair of glasses were what she had given him, and when Loki had questioned if such a flimsy veneer would actually succeed, she cited something called the </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Clark Kent Effect’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>and appeared confident that it would.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Even he had found his reflection to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>unlike himself that he decided very quickly it was worth trying, and since then he had not had a single person double-take in his direction; it was like he was invisible without actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>being </span>
  </em>
  <span>invisible. A very useful facade.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki was certain that Amelia had already fallen asleep in the two minutes it had taken him to retrieve his shoes and coat, which was clearly indicative that she was finally relaxed after being on edge all day long. He paused to lean over Aster’s crib and brushed his thumb softly over her temple as she slept, musing that she was far more composed than her brother, but he wanted to get Kari out of the room before the boy inevitably woke up and, by extension, woke Amelia up with his crying, so he did not waste another moment. He carefully lifted Kari’s carrier and exited the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was halfway down the stairway to the bottom floor when the telltale noise of whimpering caught his attention, and Loki glanced down at his stirring son. He was disappointed but not surprised, a small part of him had hoped Kari wouldn’t wake at all and that whatever had ailed his mind all day had been cured, but it was simply not going to be.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Your mother is sleeping, little one. She’s exhausted after the day you’ve given her,” Loki explained in a quiet tone, “I’m just taking you for a walk, feel free to go to sleep if you feel the need.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The boy answered his assuring words with, </span>
  <em>
    <span>surprise surprise,</span>
  </em>
  <span> a whine that grew steadily in volume until it became piercing screams. Loki sighed and continued through the foyer and out the door, ignoring the looks he received from the receptionist and the guard staff.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was 8:12pm when Loki left the tower and the sun had not yet dipped below the horizon, leaving a dim blue light to set across the city. It would have been quite serene, were it not for the tumultuous noise coming from the tiny boy in his carrier. How could such a small being make so much noise?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He walked fast but steadily towards Central Park, thinking that perhaps there was a chance little Kari would appreciate the greenery of the surroundings, and received a multitude of looks from the people he passed by - thankfully no looks of recognition. The humans mostly sent him sympathetic or amused looks which he paid no mind, but an annoying few did pin him with suspicion. Gods, they better not think he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>kidnapping</span>
  </em>
  <span> the boy; while it wouldn’t have been a problem for Loki to escape some cops, he had no interest in playing cat and mouse while carrying his young, screaming son.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He just wanted some damn peace and quiet, he didn’t need any foolish midgardians making things more difficult for him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki had almost managed to drown out the sound of Kari’s cries by the time he arrived in the park; he found an isolated bench and sat down, paying no mind to the few people who stared at the baby as they walked by, and positioned Kari’s carrier to face him, giving the boy a drawn out look, searching his face as if he’d be able to communicate with the boy telepathically.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How are you still crying?” Loki asked, “Is your throat not hurting?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He suspected Kari’s throat </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>hurting, but his reason for wanting his mother apparently overloaded the need to not have an awfully sore throat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“If you keep crying in my face like that, it’s going to hurt my feelings,” Loki joked, but Kari found no amusement in his jesting.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki frowned. His son looked so helpless and upset, and Loki lamented that he couldn’t just give the boy exactly what he needed - it wasn’t fair on Amelia, she needed to be able to sleep instead of holding onto Kari all night just to keep him from wailing. They had to find a better solution.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He tried rubbing his fingertips in soothing circles over Kari’s scalp, and while it dampened his cries very slightly for just a moment, it was not sufficient enough.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki wondered whether there was an emotional reason for Kari’s state as opposed to screaming out of necessity for basic needs. His endless cries had started that morning - had something happened overnight to prompt such a reaction? What if Kari had had a bad dream? Did babies as young as four months even have bad dreams? Infants interpreted the world around themselves a lot differently to adults, but perhaps it was still possible that he had dreamed up a nightmare that left him in such a way only Amelia could soothe.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know if you’re scared or worried about something, but you don’t have to be afraid, little one. I am here, and I always will be,” he spoke gently to the boy, holding onto his flailing arm, “I’ll always protect you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was no use. Kari was not assuaged.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki sighed, leaning against the back of the bench and pinching the bridge of his nose. It wouldn’t do very well to return to the Tower without having alleviated Kari’s problems.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A few rough minutes passed as Loki tried to think over the volume emanating from his son’s lungs, and was soon interrupted by the voice of a midgardian woman who had been going about her evening.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Let me guess, you a new parent?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With tense shoulders, Loki looked up at the woman who appeared to have stuck her nose into his business and made assumptions about him - it didn’t matter that the assumption was, on this occasion, correct - he still did not care to entertain the woman’s nosy inquiry with an answer.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t need to answer, I can tell you’re a new parent,” she snootily replied to his scathing silence, “I’ve got five little rascals myself, aged three to eleven, so I guess you could say I’m experienced in the field of parenting.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki really did not care. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The woman was already grating his nerves. She was a fair bit older than Amelia, maybe by ten years or so, with blonde straw-like hair and stress lines on her forehead. Her voice was high-pitched, but not in a cute way like Amelia’s, and she wore strikingly red lipstick and purple pigment on her eyelids. In Loki’s opinion, her makeup did not look good in the slightest.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good for you.” Loki’s retort was dismissive, a perfect reply that any normal person would interpret as the ending to a conversation, but this dumb midgardian woman continued to stick her nose where it wasn’t wanted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want some advice? You seem to be struggling with your baby.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t need your advice.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmpf, how rude. I’m just trying to help.” The woman probably thought she was doing him a big favour, but she was so very wrong.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, you’re making things worse. Stop talking to me,” Loki said outright. It was true, the prying woman’s presence was clearly agitating Kari even more. His cries had grown stronger and were beginning to sound like a plea for help to get him away from the infuriating woman.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You shouldn’t be so ungrateful!” The woman snapped.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki scoffed at her, unclipping Kari’s harness so he could pick the child up out of the carrier and hold him protectively to his chest, hoping to ease his perturbation a little. Kari’s fists curled around the fabric of his coat, another indication that he was upset by the woman before them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I was just going to tell you that when they’re crying like that and they’re not stopping, you shouldn’t give ‘em attention cause it’ll only make things worse. You need to put ‘em in their cribs and ignore ‘em, let ‘em self-soothe and they’ll quit crying for long periods of time.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki was appalled by the woman’s words. He would never in a million years leave his children alone crying in their cribs. The very idea rubbed him the wrong way. He gently rubbed Kari’s back, promising never to treat him in such a way. Infants may have been difficult to communicate with but they were still </span>
  <em>
    <span>people.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He let his lip curl up in disgust and kept his voice level, “I truly pity your five children.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The woman went red in the face and raised her voice, “How </span>
  <em>
    <span>dare </span>
  </em>
  <span>you! You don’t know anything about parenting! You’re not even </span>
  <em>
    <span>holding </span>
  </em>
  <span>your baby properly!” She made the error of gesturing with her hands a little too closely to the infant in Loki’s arms, looking very much like she was about to reposition him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki swatted her hand away in the blink of an eye and stood, rising to his full, intimidating height as the woman stumbled back slightly, “Keep walking, or we’re going to have a </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> big problem.” His voice was a low hiss, and the woman appeared to sense the threat below his words, cause she clutched her hand to her chest and rushed away.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Any curious pairs of eyes from the humans within earshot smartly averted their gaze as Loki surveyed them with a glare, daring them to make the same mistake the nosy woman had. He was all wound up tight from the encounter and wanted to return to the tower.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As he moved to grab Kari’s carrier with his free hand, he suddenly realised that the boy’s screams had mostly ceased. Loki looked down at the baby in the crook of his arm in surprise, eyes wide as he tried to figure out what had possibly calmed him. Kari was still a bit whimpery and had yet to release him, his little hand clutching the lapel of his coat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You feeling okay now, little one?” Loki inquired tentatively, worried that the child could be set off again at any moment.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari blinked a few times slowly, and then opened up his mouth in a big yawn; a smile pulled at Loki’s face, along with a feeling of relief that settled in his chest. “I’m not surprised you’re tired. Sleep, Kari, I’ll take you home.” Loki elected to carry the boy home in one arm instead of placing him back in the carrier, lest Kari found it to be unsuited for falling asleep in, and walked steadily back in the direction to the tower.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>By the time he arrived back at the Avengers Tower, Kari was sound asleep, lulled by the distant hum of tires on tarmac several streets away, and Loki revelled in the sound of </span>
  <em>
    <span>peace and quiet. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia would be happy to know he had managed to soothe the boy. However, he was a little bit frustrated that he still did not know what had caused Kari’s day-long outburst in the first place.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Babies were truly a mystery.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki didn’t want to risk riding in the elevator in case it disrupted Kari’s sleep, so he took the stairs up to the communal floor and made his way down the hallway past the living quarters.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The sound of voices gave him pause. He halted at the entrance to the room and spied Romanoff and Barton talking to Stark - they must have just returned back from their mission as they still appeared to be wearing their fighting gear.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, hey,” said Stark upon noticing him, “you got the kid to stop crying? Hallelujah.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki glanced down at Kari, nodding his head in assent. “At least.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Has he been giving you trouble today?” Romanoff asked, amusement prevalent in her voice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s been crying for no reason. All day.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No reason, huh?” Barton parroted, a smirk pulling at his mouth.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s brow furrowed, “It would seem so.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And what got him to stop?” The archer continued his line of questioning and Loki fought the urge to blatantly roll his eyes, remembering his promise to Amelia that he would </span>
  <em>
    <span>try </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be more civil with the man.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” Loki began, taking a breath, “I was accosted by a midgardian woman in the park who attempted to give me unsolicited advice on parenting, which I declined, then she started shouting that I was rude and ungrateful, and accused me of holding Kari incorrectly. Then she tried to grab him.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Barton raised an eyebrow, slightly taken aback by Loki’s unanticipated tale, “...and?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I may have threatened her. It’s a blur.” Loki prepared himself to receive an earful about the morality of threatening humans, but was pleasantly surprised when Barton nodded in apparent approval of his actions.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sounds like she deserved that.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki blinked and murmured, “Yes.” That was unexpected.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So he stopped crying after that?” Romanoff asked, stepping closer so that she could get a good look at Kari sleeping cosily, his little hand still lightly hanging on to the lapel of Loki’s coat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes. I am still not sure what precipitated his crying, until now he was only calmed when Amelia was holding him. It doesn’t make sense to me but… I’m not complaining.” Just so long as he didn’t restart the cycle all over again tomorrow.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sounds like he only felt safe with his mother,” Barton suggested.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki scowled, “What?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Barton’s hands went up in front of him defensively, “I’m just saying, perhaps he got anxious and the only thing that could soothe him was his mother, because he felt safe with her. Don’t take it personally, babies get like that sometimes.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I wasn’t taking it personally,” Loki mumbled, the frown still heavy on his face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, maybe you showed him that he could feel secure with you too, when you got rid of that woman who was bothering the two of you.” The archer shrugged.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki stopped himself from automatically telling Barton his hypothesis was stupid, because on reflection, it </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>sound like it could make sense, and Loki knew Barton had children of his own, so his supposition wasn’t completely unfounded.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What would have prompted him to think he was unsafe with me to begin with?” Loki inquired, and he really didn’t mean for his tone to sound so despondent, but it came out that way anyway.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Barton shook his head. He didn’t know the answer to that one.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, at least he’s happy now, huh?” Romanoff pointed out, smiling at the sleeping baby, “I’d like to see him tomorrow when he’s awake.” This time, Loki did subtly roll his eyes. He was going to have to get used to the fact that everybody in the Tower wanted to hold and play with the babies.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Romanoff left the room, and Stark exited too, on his way to his lab to write some notes about the mission she and Barton embarked on that day, leaving Loki alone with the archer. An awkward silence followed as Loki and Barton stared at each other for a drawn-out moment, before Barton cleared his throat and moved to walk around Loki.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But Loki had something he wanted to ask about, that he admittedly couldn’t think of anybody else to ask - something that had been bothering him ever since that woman in the park had poked her nose into his business.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you-” Loki quickly cut himself off, his pride reminding him that Barton was an annoying human who was far from anyone he would call a friend.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Barton stopped, looking back at him with raised eyebrows, waiting expectantly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki quietly sighed, “Did you ever... ignore your children when they were crying as infants? And let them… </span>
  <em>
    <span>self-soothe?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He regretted asking immediately, but waited courteously for the archer to acknowledge his question with an answer.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Barton searched his face, seemingly trying to figure out what had urged him to ask such a question, or rather what had urged him to ask </span>
  <em>
    <span>Barton </span>
  </em>
  <span>a question at all, seeing as they weren’t on great terms.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What brought this on?” The archer sounded curious.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It was something the intrusive woman in the park suggested.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Barton tilted his head back in understanding, but continued to pin Loki with an almost suspicious look. After a moment of quiet contemplation on Barton’s part, he spoke again, “Do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>value my input?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki loathed to admit his next words, murmuring hesitantly, “As an… experienced parent… you may have beneficial insight.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, can you say that again?” Barton mocked with a smirk.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You heard me,” Loki hissed, “I don’t need to repeat myself.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Barton laughed, his gaze falling to Kari and then back to Loki, “Alright. Here’s what I think. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Self-soothing </span>
  </em>
  <span>is not something a baby can learn. Do you think babies actually cry for no reason?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki frowned, glancing down at Kari curiously. He had thought so, earlier that day, after trying absolutely every idea under the sun to get the boy to stop crying, but after what Barton had suggested, about Kari not feeling secure, he wasn’t sure.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>At his extended silence, Barton continued, “Does Amelia ever cry for no reason?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki quirked an eyebrow, “Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell me an example of when that has happened.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What does that have to do with babies?” Loki was beginning to think Barton was wasting his time instead of sharing anything particularly insightful.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Humour me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This time, Loki didn’t try to be subtle about rolling his eyes, “On occasion, Amelia has had bouts of unpredictable sadness. It happened often during her pregnancy. We figured it was hormonal.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” Barton nodded, “so the hormones caused her to feel sad, and the sadness caused her to cry. She wasn’t crying without reason, then.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki blinked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Just because the feeling of sadness had no trigger and was irrational doesn’t mean she wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>feeling </span>
  </em>
  <span>sad, right? You gotta remember that children are just small, helpless people who can’t communicate. They still have feelings and emotions. They’re brains are developing rapidly, especially at Kari’s age, and he may experience fear or sadness when there’s no clear cause that we can pinpoint. Babies don’t cry for no reason.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki had felt the exact same way when that woman had spat utter nonsense about her </span>
  <em>
    <span>self-soothing method, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he just hadn’t been able to discern exactly why it had pissed him off, but Barton worded his feelings on the subject perfectly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Where are you going with this?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Babies don’t cry for no reason, and babies don’t learn to soothe themselves when they’re ignored. They may stop crying, but not because the reason for their crying has passed. They’ll stop crying because they realise there’s no </span>
  <em>
    <span>point </span>
  </em>
  <span>in crying if their parents will simply ignore it. That doesn’t solve the problem, and it’s awful for child development. If a child feels there is no use in crying over emotional needs because they know the parent will not come to help them, what if they choose not to cry for an urgent need? A life-threatening need?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Barton’s explanation was becoming crystal clear. The woman in the park had had </span>
  <em>
    <span>five </span>
  </em>
  <span>children - when Loki had told her that he pitied her children, he’d just been trying to rile her up, but now he truly did pity her children.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I see.” Loki said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Barton nodded and then, while smiling almost smugly, added, “Any more questions?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki could tell the archer was revelling over the fact that he had come to him for help, that he had needed Barton’s parental advice. With a scoff, Loki responded, “No, that will be all.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Great,” Barton replied flatly, and then walked around Loki to leave the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia would not approve of the rather contemptuous way he had brushed Barton off after the archer had offered his guidance on a small matter, and Loki wished he hadn’t promised Amelia that he would try to be nicer to the man. His desire to make his wife happy won out over his pride.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Barton,” he said quickly without turning around. Even with his back to the man, Loki could tell Barton had paused in step and was looking back at him. He opened his mouth, and then closed it, and then opened it again, closing his eyes exasperatedly at his own reluctance, and then scathingly breathed out the word, “Thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The ensuing quietness was telling. Barton was no doubt shocked that Loki had shown gratitude, because it took him a full twenty seconds to say, “Yeah, no problem.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki waited for the archer to exit the room before curling his lip in dismay. He’d actually shown appreciation for Barton, how </span>
  <em>
    <span>mortifying. </span>
  </em>
  <span>If the human dared to use it against him in any way, he would- </span>
  <em>
    <span>he would-</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He wouldn’t kill him. Amelia would </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>hate that.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He would knock him around a bit, for certain.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki sighed. The time was ticking and he needed to get little Kari into his crib so the boy could get some restful sleep.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>On the way up the stairwell to the correct floor, Loki found himself wondering, if Barton had been right in his hypothesis that Kari had felt unsafe - except in Amelia’s arms - then what had caused it? He had been fine thus far, it was only that morning that he had started acting up; the only notable thing that had happened out of the norm was the little argument he and Amelia had had the day before in the nursery.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Could Kari have been affected by that?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Glancing down to the infant in his arms, Loki tilted his head curiously. There had been a few separate occasions in which both Kari and Aster had reacted to the negative emotions from himself and Amelia. Perhaps they were both empaths. It was safe to assume they were both very in touch with the emotions of their parents.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>If it was true, it meant Kari had clearly taken his mother’s side of the skirmish.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A small smile pulled at Loki’s lips. A mama’s boy through and through.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you, your sister and your mother,” Loki whispered in reassurance to the slumbering boy, “I’ll always be right here for you all.” It was no empty promise.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki kissed Kari’s forehead before laying him down in his crib that night, and soon after crawled into bed with Amelia, who was still peacefully sleeping, and kissed her goodnight too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The name of that woman who chose to go for a late night stroll and worm her way into Loki's business? Karen McKarenson.</p>
<p>If you enjoy this fic, please leave a comment!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Watching Over You</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Poor little Aster isn't feeling very well.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So sorry for the gap between the last chapter and this one! The weather here in England has been so unbearably hot and it's so difficult to write when I'm physically cooking alive in my stuffy little bedroom with awful ventilation. And the fact that I cannot stand even the slightest rise in temperatures.</p><p>It's a 20 celsius today so I was able to finish this one off! I hope you all enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster was sick.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia had noticed during her daughter’s morning feed that her nose was steadily running, and that the snot was slightly yellow in colour. No amount of wiping her face with a gentle tissue was enough to stop it. That had been the first indication, and it had taken Bruce all of two seconds to deduce that the poor thing had a cold coming on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki had been taken aback by the realisation, “They aren’t immune to Midgardian illnesses?” He had naturally assumed that his innate immunity would be passed down to his children and that it wasn’t something they would have to worry about, but clearly this was not the case.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Apparently not,” Bruce had responded before pressing the back of his hand to Aster’s forehead, “She doesn’t appear to have a fever. Nothing too concerning, but definitely let me or one of the other medical staff know if anything changes. For now, just make sure to be careful when she feeds - she might have trouble breathing if her nose is completely stuffed up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia watched Aster like a hawk the entire morning, checking almost every five minutes for signs that the baby had caught a fever. The running of her nose did not let up, and her nostrils had turned a sore red by midday; Aster’s discomfort was clear from the way she whined softly every so often, just on the precipice of crying.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, my poor baby,” Amelia cooed as she stroked Aster’s head, running her fingers through the thin hairs there. Her daughter looked up at her with a very disgruntled expression on her little face, eyes squinting tiredly, and Amelia hoped she would not be afflicted by the cold for too long.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With any luck, it would last only a few days, no longer than a week, and it would remain a mild inconvenience rather than progress to something more severe.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, Aster managed to sleep easily most of the day, and Amelia was glad she could slumber through the discomfort rather than be forced to endure it while awake. She just hoped Aster would continue to rest through the night.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was clear that Kari was confused by the fact he was being kept away from Aster - they were at least trying to save him from coming down with a cold as well - and that the break in the norm was upsetting him. Usually Kari and Aster spent a lot of their waking hours in close proximity playing with, or chewing on, their toys together. That day, however, Kari did not get his typical playtime with his sister, and was being entertained by either Loki or Natasha - it didn’t stop the baby boy from looking around searchingly to try and catch sight of Aster.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia insisted she nurse Aster back to health, despite Loki’s offer to closely watch his daughter; Amelia didn’t quite want to let the baby go, the motherly instincts within her told her to keep the girl close at all times, even though she absolutely knew that Loki would dutifully ensure the child’s comfort.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the afternoon, Aster’s breathing grew a little wheezy and she let out little coughs every now and then, though she still hadn’t shown any signs of being feverish, which was relieving; Amelia cradled her as she sat on one end of the couch in the nursery while Loki sat at the other end, Kari sitting upright in his lap with support.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy gurgled and babbled and grumbled endlessly in dismay at being held apart from his sister, occasionally shaking the rattle clenched in his little fist, as if trying to get Aster’s attention. It was incredibly endearing and sweet, the two of them would no doubt be thick as thieves as they grew up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki seemed worried about Aster; the insistent lines on his forehead and the furrow of his brow giving his feelings away plainly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’ll be okay,” Amelia assured her husband, “colds usually last no more than a week or so, she will be fine after that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What if she falls ill like you did?” Loki inquired gently, grabbing Kari’s free hand playfully and running his fingers through the boy’s thin curls with his other hand by way of soothing him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia knew he was referring to the illness she contracted when she was pregnant, the one that put her in the infirmary with a high fever. Loki had transformed into his Jotun form to keep her temperature down, likely saving her from what could have been a very bad situation - his fears weren’t unfounded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, that was a severe case,” Amelia pointed out, “so far Aster just has a snotty nose and a slight cough, no fever. If she had a fever, then we would have reason to worry, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Besides, if she </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>develop a fever, we have some of the best doctors in the country just a quick call away, </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>we can always contact Inga if you think she would be more helpful than human doctors.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I would be more at ease if we were in New Asgard, where we could have Inga present in less than a minute if need be,” Loki went on to say. Amelia knew that if Loki had his way, they’d live in Asgard permanently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know you would, but we can’t go running to Inga at the slightest little problem. What next? We go to Inga because Kari gets a splinter in his finger and you only trust her to expertly remove it?” Amelia spoke teasingly, smirking as Loki glared wearily at her, “What I’m saying is, we’re going to need to learn how to look after them when they’re sick. We need that level of independence, just in case we’re ever in a situation where we can’t just hop onto the Bifrost and get off at the stop closest to a healer.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If Aster was showing signs of a more severe illness, then it would be different, but for a runny nose and a slight cough, she felt it would be a little silly to waste a doctor’s time when she knew more or less what they would suggest anyway. Amelia fully understood Loki’s fears, it was normal for a parent to worry about their young child when they were sick, but she was confident Aster would turn out to be fine so long as they kept a close eye on her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why would we ever be in a situation where the help of Asgard is not readily available?” Loki challenged, one eyebrow raised.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gee, I don’t know,” Amelia began in a playfully mocking voice, “we could get kidnapped and taken halfway across the universe in a mysterious spaceship or something.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki eyed her for a moment, a serious edge to his gaze despite the fact that Amelia had very clearly been joking around, and then he quietly spoke, “No. Never again... I won’t be so careless as to let something like that happen again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia sighed. The incident with Eruk almost a year prior had been out of Loki’s control, she knew that, but he failed to see it that way. He always had and probably always would personally blame himself if anything bad ever happened to his family. Amelia also knew that if she tried to tell him it wasn’t his fault, he would not accept it, so instead she reached over and laid a hand on his knee, squeezing comfortingly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aster’s gonna be fine. She’ll be back to her energetic, determined self in a week or less,” Amelia assured him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki placed his own hand over Amelia’s, giving her a small smile in acknowledgement of her words.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unexpectedly, Kari pressed his rattle down over both their hands as if he’d been trying to copy the gesture but was unable to do so with his short arms. The action caused both Amelia and Loki to laugh aloud.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you sweet little pumpkin,” Amelia giggled. She couldn’t express just how much she loved her beautiful children; some days she simply stopped to ponder just how incredible it was that she and Loki had created such lovely little beings. She couldn’t wait to watch them grow up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster coughed a little more steadily, a helpless little raspy noise that pulled at Amelia’s heartstrings; she lifted the girl to her shoulder and rubbed her palm in circles on Aster’s back, giving her gentle pats to help her clear the mucus from her throat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia sighed sadly when Aster’s coughing subsided only to be replaced with crying. The little one was in pain, and Amelia just wanted her to be healthy again, it was difficult to listen to Aster whine and weep in her discomfort.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can take her,” Loki suggested, “you’ve been holding onto her all day, so it would give you a break.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia paused in her hesitance to hand the baby over to her husband, but ultimately decided that it was unfair of her to cling to Aster all day long when the child might find more comfort in her daddy’s arms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Amelia stood and placed Aster in her nursery crib, “let me just wash my hands and change my shirt before taking Kari. Don’t want him to catch her germs.” After cleaning up a bit, Amelia returned to pick up her son, who gurgled excitedly and shook his rattle, and Loki came to Aster’s rescue, picking her up and shushing her gently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He performed the same circular motions on her back that Amelia had, and this time Aster was pacified more quickly, despite the continuing coughs expelling from her throat. She wasn’t crying now that Loki was cuddling her, but Amelia didn’t take that personally.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki hummed the lullaby his mother used to sing for him, and before long Aster was blinking tiredly and nodding off while Amelia entertained Kari until he too settled down for a nap. It was approaching 9 o’clock at night by the time Aster once again made her displeasure audible and began croaking and crying in her crib.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her noises quickly woke Kari, who cried along with her, as he tended to do, and Amelia once again felt the pangs and twinges of Aster’s affliction deep within her soul. She needed to do something.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna take Aster into the nursery and feed her, and then see if I can get her to sleep more comfortably,” Amelia explained determinedly, knowing that keeping her extra hydrated would aid well in her recovery, “this is gonna be easier if we settle them separately, so you deal with Kari, I’ll be back when she’s asleep.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki could hardly argue with somebody who sounded so resolute, even if he knew he could soothe Aster faster than Amelia could, so he simply nodded his head and did as his wife suggested.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay, sweetpea,” Amelia murmured to her daughter as she picked the girl up out of her crib, “we’re gonna make you feel better, alright?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She left the bedroom, walking down the hall to the adjacent room which had been set up as the nursery, and rocked Aster gently in her arms. The baby paused her crying only to cough, the sound of mucus trapped in her throat was dismaying and Amelia lifted the girl to her shoulder, patting her back gently as she had done that afternoon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia sat on the recliner and cradled Aster, pressing the back of her hand to her forehead to check her temperature. She seemed warm but not worryingly so; her cries seemed raspier, but Amelia figured that was probably a result of a sore throat brought on by the hacking. A little milk would probably soothe it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright, little one,” Amelia spoke calmingly, opening up her robe so that Aster could feed; the child began to drink quickly, revealing that she was clearly thirsty, and Amelia took special care to make sure her airways were clear every few seconds, otherwise Aster would struggle to get a breath in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While Aster drank, Amelia hummed songs in the hopes of lulling the girl into a more serene state. Kari usually appreciated his mother’s voice more than Aster did, but it seemed to work this time. Aster’s eyes drooped somewhat as she suckled and Amelia smiled, a swell of victory at the fact she had managed to calm her daughter without Loki’s help. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Success.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s it, sweetpea. Mama’s got you,” Amelia whispered, shifting the child into the crook of her elbow as she seemed to be done feeding. She kept Aster’s head elevated a little but not quite upright, to help stop the mucus from pooling in her throat again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately, the movement seemed to knock Aster out of her trance-like state and she looked up at Amelia, sniffled, and began to whine as a precursor to more crying.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, no, Aster- it’s okay, sweetie,” Amelia whispered, the swell of victory quickly dissipating into slight dejection. How exactly did Loki do it? What was it about him that left Aster utterly and completely pacified? It could’ve been his voice or his scent, or something else entirely, but Aster very much loved her papa over anybody else. Amelia supposed Loki had probably wondered the same thing about Kari.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In a bid to think of something and not resort to calling for Loki, Amelia decided to try and use her magical energy to hush the baby. She hadn’t had a lot of time to practise with it since the babies had been born, and she knew already that since the birth, her powers had heavily diminished. Inga had surmised that a large portion of the magic had rooted itself into Kari and Aster instead of remaining in Amelia’s body, which was supported by the fact that her attempts to use the magic since were lacklustre to say the least.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Where her magic had once been strong enough to form a basket-ball shaped sphere of energy in her palms, it was now no larger than a marble. Still, not all she had learned had gone to waste - and Loki assured her that with practise, her magic would likely return to the same level it had been on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For now, Amelia lifted one hand, palm facing upwards, into Aster’s view, and concentrated real hard. It was difficult to focus with Aster’s weeping as background noise, but Amelia was dead set on bringing the girl some tranquility on her own, without the help of her husband, and that purposive resolve fuelled her energy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The small, green ball flickered to life, brightening the dimly lit room, and the moment it appeared, Aster paused in her cries, observing the sudden arrival of the physical manifestation of magical energy with a hint of fascination. Amelia smiled again, knowing the girl was very much full of curiosity and an urge to learn.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster tilted her head, inadvertently rubbing her snotty nose on her mother’s robe, and Amelia gave a snicker, “Thanks for that,” before watching as the girl reached out with one inquisitive hand, resting it on her mother’s palm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The green energy pulsed weakly with warmth, and Amelia let her eyes slip closed to pour her concentration into changing the shape of the ball. Loki had shown her how to do it a few times, warping the ball into shapes made of light, creating symbols or animals - it was just another attribute of his illusionary skills.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia turned her marble-sized ball into a butterfly, which fluttered its wings as if it were real, and let out a breath as the magic stabilised. The butterfly flitted to sit on her finger, and Amelia brought it closer to Aster.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl was captivated by it, her weepiness and her cold forgotten, and she gently swatted at Amelia’s palm with her own, a sweet little action that showed her muted excitement at her mama’s magical energy. Amelia giggled, willing the incorporeal butterfly to flitter over to Aster’s face. It landed on her nose, and Aster’s eyes opened wider, her green eyes reflecting the green magic brightly as she looked up, cross-eyed in awe. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster tried touching it, but her fingers phased through the green energy, it didn’t seem to bother her that she couldn’t pick it up. The butterfly flew up to her forehead, and Aster babbled a few syllables that sounded like “buh-buh-buh,” to which Amelia smiled widely and whispered, “Yes, but-ter-fly!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia was glad that Aster was doing well, her spirits raised to the point that her cold didn’t make her so miserable. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a few minutes, Amelia found herself wonderstruck when the room suddenly </span>
  <em>
    <span>filled </span>
  </em>
  <span>with butterflies, bright little insects fluttering around the room, making Aster gurgle in amazement; </span>
  <em>
    <span>Amelia </span>
  </em>
  <span>wasn’t doing that - her magic wasn’t strong enough to manifest so many of them at once.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her gaze went to the door that was slightly ajar, and she saw Loki’s eyes peering through from the other side. The moment he saw that Amelia had caught him out, he stepped into the room with a smile on his face, the butterflies continuing to dance around the room, leaving beautiful ribbon-like trails in their wake.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He cradled a snoring Kari in his arms, and moved quietly to sit by Amelia’s side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“These are pretty,” Amelia whispered, eyes flicking to the stunning magic-made display, and Loki smiled coyly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was inspired.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia grinned at the veiled compliment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How is the little one doing?” Loki asked, leaning over to press the side of his head to Amelia’s.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Much better now that she has a lovely magic show to watch,” Amelia answered, “she really enjoys magic - she’s gonna be a little spellcaster when she grows up, learning all the spells, taking after her daddy. I’m sure of it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If there was anything that could distract little Aster from the torment of a cold, it was definitely her father’s magnificent display of sorcery. Given that the little one had stopped crying and coughing all at once and seemed to be a lot better very quickly, Amelia couldn’t help but think Aster might’ve been putting on a bit of an act - that it wasn’t quite as bad as she made it out to be. She had cried for her daddy’s attention and it had made her cough more, but now that she was content, the coughing didn’t seem to be a problem.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s already taking after you in the fact that she’s a little drama queen, that’s for sure.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki shook his head, rolling his eyes with a small mirthful smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Please leave me a comment! Does anybody have any ideas they want to see me write because for real, I have so many ideas for things to happen later in the fic when the children get a bit older like toddlers, but I'm not entirely sure what things to write about for the immediate next chapters.</p><p>In the next chapter, I'm thinking of skipping ahead a tiny bit and having the babies learn how to crawl! What do you think? They learn to crawl and Loki and Aster have to suddenly be aware that their little ones could zip off without them noticing? ^_^</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Precarious Petite Pioneer</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The babies learn to crawl. Hi-jinks ensue.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Has anyone played the game Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout on PS4? Because it's fucking addictive as heck and I've been a tad distracted from writing because of it. MY MOST HUMBLEST APOLOGIES &lt;3 I hope this chapter makes up for it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari was the first to figure out how to crawl. Everyone had been present in the living quarters when it happened; the two babies were sitting in their little play-area in the centre of the room, safe-guarded with padded flooring. Aster and Kari had been squeezing, shaking, chewing all of their favourite toys, and then Kari had flapped his arm a little too enthusiastically, and the soft kangaroo toy that was pinched in his hand flew several feet in front of him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia had been the only one to notice while the others spoke amongst themselves, and had intended to get up and return the toy to her son, knowing it was his favourite toy to play with, but instead, she waited, wondering if the boy would take the initiative and retrieve the plushie himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari looked to her, a big pout on his face, and Amelia thought he might cry when it became apparent she wasn’t going to get up and bring it back to him. He stared forlornly at the out-of-reach toy, which seemed awfully dramatic, until a switch appeared to click in his mind, and he shuffled forwards onto his stomach, stretching out his arm to try and reach it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was still a few inches shy, so he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that point, Amelia practically slammed her hand down on Loki’s, which was resting affectionately on her knee, and her husband quickly followed her gaze with concern, until he saw where Amelia’s attention was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari crawled tentatively towards his toy and resumed sitting on his butt once he had the kangaroo plush in his grasp, continuing to admire the soft texture of its fur, oblivious to what he had just achieved.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia was delightful. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes! </span>
  </em>
  <span>Ooh, my smart little boy figured out how to crawl!” She sang as she hopped off the couch and knelt by the child, quickly picking him up and cuddling him enthusiastically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari squealed happily at the attention and the high-pitched sing-song voice with which his mother spoke to him - he knew she was pleased about something, and that in turn made </span>
  <em>
    <span>him </span>
  </em>
  <span>joyful, even if he didn’t know exactly what he had done to receive such praise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a big step, one that Loki was also excited about, but he would probably show that excitement later that day in the privacy of the nursery instead of gushing to his son right in front of all the other Avengers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Crawling already?” Stark remarked, “It feels like they arrived in the world only yesterday.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Stark was right, it </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>feel like the babies had only been born the day before. It had gone by in a flash, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it duration of time that had Loki wondering how long it would be before Kari and Aster were walking and talking. Loki didn’t want them to race to grow up, he enjoyed taking care of them and he knew he would miss these days once they had passed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was best to savour them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster looked clueless as to why her brother was receiving all the cuddles and her mama hadn’t come to hug </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>yet, so Loki knelt by the couch, several feet from his daughter, and beckoned her towards him with his arms outstretched.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster knew that outstretched arms meant he wanted to hold her, because she put her arms up all the time when she wanted her dada to pick her up, so Loki knew there wasn’t a lack of communication there, but would Aster take the initiative and crawl to him instead of waiting for him to come to her?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The child stared at him for a moment before mimicking the gesture, stretching her arms out towards Loki as if to say ‘yes, come pick me up,’ but Loki shook his head, chuckling to himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, you come to me, Aster.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In a moment of improvisation, Amelia placed Kari back down and tossed his kangaroo toy towards Loki’s feet, hoping the little boy would chase after it again, “Go on, Kari, show Aster how to crawl!” She gave him a pat on the butt to encourage him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For a moment, Kari looked at Amelia with a look that could be interpreted as exasperated. A noise of displeasure left his throat. He seemed offended that his mama had chucked his favourite toy across the room when he had just spent all that effort crawling across the floor to retrieve it - </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>been commended for it. Thankfully, the determined little boy slowly inched across the padded floor towards where his kangaroo was positioned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look, Aster! Watch what your brother’s doing! What’s Kari doing?” Amelia indicated her son, hoping that Aster would understand that she was meant to copy him. She and Loki had only been trying to urge Aster to crawl for a couple minutes, but Amelia was already frustrated that she couldn’t communicate perfectly with her daughter. It would be a lot easier if the two tots were already speaking, but it would be a while yet before that occurred.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari reached his kangaroo and happily hugged it to his chest, immediately putting the toy’s ear in his mouth so he could chew on it. Amelia figured the texture of the soft toy probably felt good in his mouth because he had a knack for sucking on it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki tapped his finger against Kari’s nose, “Good boy,” he praised him and stroked the boy’s head affectionately before looking back to Aster to see if she was feeling a little left out. If the tremendous pout on her face was anything to go by, she was most definitely feeling left out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come to me,” Loki beckoned her again, “crawling is </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>that hard, don’t cry about it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Amelia interjected, “it’s pretty hard for a baby who doesn’t know how to crawl, Loki.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki shushed Amelia, smirking when she harrumphed, and continued to urge Aster towards him, picking up and shaking nearby toys to try and coax her closer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, kid, if you crawl to your pops, I’ll make you your very own Iron Man suit,” Stark promised, and Loki rolled his eyes at the man’s vow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster’s pout only grew more powerful, squinting her eyes slightly as they filled with tears, and Amelia had to put a lot of self-control into not sweeping the girl up in a loving hug. She needed to figure it out on her own, and the sooner she got it, the better.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari crawled back to Amelia the moment he realised he could carry his kangaroo toy in his mouth and move at the same time, which was oddly humorous - like he was a mother cat carrying its young. This time, Aster set her sights on her brother, paying attention to what he was doing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was most fascinating to watch the cogs turn behind the little girl’s green eyes. The way she tilted her head was utterly adorable and it instantly reminded Loki of the way Amelia sometimes cocked her head sideways when she was thinking intently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Something clicked in Aster’s head and she quickly shuffled forward onto her stomach and tried to copy her brother. Instead of pushing herself up onto her hands and knees, she was prone on the padded flooring, shifting onwards like a leopard stalking its prey through tall grass. She didn’t move as gracefully as Kari, but her method still got her from point A to point B, and she soon found herself in front of her father. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her smile melted Loki as he picked her up and cuddled her as a reward. “Good job,” he whispered - although she hadn’t crawled properly, he knew she was a fast learner and would quickly take after her brother.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki was correct in his conjecture. Three days later, Aster had already gotten the hang of crawling and was just as active as Kari - the two of them were now mobile and crawling around in circles. They seemed most happy when they were chasing each other around on the soft carpet of the nursery floor, making joyful noises such as squealing and laughing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was an exciting and wonderful sight. Soon enough they’d be walking, running, and talking; Loki was most excited to teach them how to use magic, and to tell them stories of the battles he had fought long ago. He could picture himself dramatically recreating his memories in place of bed-time stories, revealing the valiant skirmishes he had fought in, and how he had used his magic and wit to overcome his foes. He hoped his stories would be entertaining for his children.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was around lunch time in the Avengers Tower when Loki found himself alone in the communal living room with his two babies. Amelia was upstairs taking a shower as she hadn’t yet gotten the chance that morning on account of the children being very fussy since they’d woken up, and Loki had taken it upon himself to feed them both. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They’d recently started eating baby food alongside their usual amount of breastmilk, which gave Amelia a break, but it was quite a venture getting them to eat when they were not in the mood for cooperating.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on, don’t be difficult,” Loki mumbled as he tried to scoop a small amount of cauliflower-cheese flavoured baby food into Aster’s mouth. Half of it had fallen onto her bib and the other half she was vehemently denying, turning her head away as she attempted to spit what he </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>managed to spoon into her mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eventually Loki sighed and offered the food to Kari instead, who was sitting in the highchair just next to his sister, patiently awaiting his turn for some delicious mushy goodness. Kari, unlike Aster, was happy to accept the mashed cauliflower-cheese, enthusiastically tilting his head forwards to gobble up what was on the spoon in a rather amusing fashion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki hoped Aster would once again take after her brother’s example and decide to gracefully accept the food instead of spitting it out and making a mess, but when he once again brought a small spoonful to her lips, she turned her head away again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can’t be telling that you don’t like this. It smells fine, Kari likes it. It’s cauliflower-cheese,” he told her, as if she would suddenly change her mind at his declaration, but no matter how many times he tried, she just wasn’t interested.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” Loki sighed, “be that way, then.” He fed the rest of the small jar to Kari, who kicked his legs joyfully - he was definitely going to be a foodie when he grew up, perhaps he would even take an interest in cooking just like his mother, then there would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>two </span>
  </em>
  <span>expert cooks in the family. The thought of that was very pleasing to Loki.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Loki spoke when Kari had practically licked every inch of the jar clean, “you two can play for a bit while we wait for your mother.” They had an outing planned, just a sweet walk through Central Park so that the babies could enjoy the colours of nature and get some nice, fresh air.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki picked Aster and Kari out of their highchairs and placed them on the padded flooring area one by one before taking the empty jar across the room to the kitchen for disposal. His head was turned for a total of about ten seconds, and when he looked back to his children, he noticed that Aster was not where he had placed her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Swallowing the sudden and inadvertent lump rising in his throat, Loki quickly returned to the middle of the room, looking around the furniture with rising trepidation. She couldn’t have gotten far in the time it took Loki to reach the kitchen, she was only </span>
  <em>
    <span>tiny, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and yet she was not hiding anywhere around the couches. She didn’t appear to be anywhere in sight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aster?” Loki called out to the room, expecting to hear her babble in response - she knew her name and she knew when he was trying to get her attention, but the baby did not respond and Loki felt his stomach roll over on itself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kari, where’s your sister?” Loki asked, raising his voice just a tad, “Where is Aster?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari, who was sitting on the floor playing with his kangaroo toy, looked up at him with wide eyes and did not give him an answer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Frantically, Loki began to search around the room, making sure to keep Kari in his peripheral at all times - one missing child was bad enough but </span>
  <em>
    <span>two </span>
  </em>
  <span>missing children would be grounds for Amelia to absolutely throttle him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aster? Aster, do you want cuddles?” He called out, trying to sound approachable by a baby’s standards. He hoped that maybe he had said the word enough times that she recognised and associated it with hugs, because he knew his little girl couldn’t resist being held by him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a few minutes with no progress, Loki was beginning to feel his pulse quicken; his heart thumping behind his ribcage like an animal trying to escape its confinements. He hadn’t felt this anxious in a long time, hadn’t felt genuinely </span>
  <em>
    <span>scared</span>
  </em>
  <span> since perhaps the babies had been born.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>a good feeling. Aster was six months old, she was a tiny, helpless child and she could easily find herself in a fatal situation. He shouldn’t have taken his eyes away from them for even a moment, but he foolishly underestimated just how much ground a child could cover in ten seconds.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A sudden thought brought him more dread. What if Aster had managed to crawl out the room and was now making her way down the hall - what if she made it to the stairwell and fell down the stairs?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As-Aster?” Loki called again, this time shouting, and he almost tripped over himself as he grabbed Kari and lifted him quickly, almost jogging to the entrance of the room to glance down the hallway. He couldn’t see any movement. Surely she hadn’t been able to go so far?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“F.R.I.D.A.Y?” He remembered the building’s A.I system was always watching, “Where is Aster?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He held his breath, waiting for a response.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aster is in the living quarters,” the femenine voice responded matter-of-factly, and Loki felt a small amount of relief in knowing she hadn’t left the room - but </span>
  <em>
    <span>where </span>
  </em>
  <span>in the damn world was she hiding?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Where </span>
  </em>
  <span>in the living room?” Loki asked tightly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aster is in the living quarters,” F.R.I.D.A.Y replied rather unhelpfully, and Loki scoffed, placing a confused Kari back down on the play mat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aster?” Loki called again, stepping lightly around the couch, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of movement other than Kari.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That’s when he heard it - the quietest little giggle, and he froze. He could hear blood rushing past his ears from the strong beat of his heart, but he did his best to latch on to the sound, quickly locating the direction it had come from. The coffee table.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki took two strides towards the low coffee table in the centre of the couches, and it seemed to prompt the little hide-and-seek expert to flee from her hiding place. Aster squealed, crawling like a bullet from her space below the table, trying her best to get away from her father.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Aster!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki snapped, not quite in a gaming mood.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The little girl flinched and stumbled in her crawling, looking up at him with enormous eyes that were regrettably full of fright from Loki’s unexpected shout. In the brief few seconds before Aster burst into tears, Loki felt awful for bellowing her name so clamorously, and tried desperately to shush her. He picked her up and immediately held her to his chest even as she cried miserably, bouncing her slightly and whispering gentle apologies into her ear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What on earth is going on?” Amelia’s voice fluttered through the room, and Loki stared at her with his mouth hanging open for a moment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing, everything’s fine.” He was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to admit to Amelia that he had lost Aster for a good few frightening minutes and had proceeded to shout his head off at her the moment he found her, explaining just why she was bawling in his arms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well it doesn’t look like nothing,” Amelia argued, hands on hips, “why’s she crying?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Loki lied, “Who knows? It’s just a thing babies do, right?” He knew as soon as he spoke the words that it was probably the worst lie he had ever told. Even the lies he had told his mother as a mischievous child, framing Thor for eating his after-dinner sweet treats when he had actually been the one to eat them, just so he could get another treat and so his brother would get in trouble, had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>far</span>
  </em>
  <span> more convincing than what had just left his mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really.” Amelia said, unpersuaded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think she’s annoyed that you were taking too long to shower,” Loki tried instead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wow,” Amelia tilted her head, squinting her eyes. Blessedly, she let it go for the moment, but she looked like she would bring it up at a later time to try and get to the bottom of it - for the moment though, Loki would continue to act like he had no part in making Aster cry, and promised the little girl extra cuddles by way of apology.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mental note, hide and seek with a six month old was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>a good idea. But at least Loki knew that his daughter would grow to be explorative, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>just as mischievous as him.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>That mischievous little thing. SHE JUST WANTED TO PLAY HIDE AND SEEK, LOKI, YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO YELL AT HER!!!</p><p>What should happen next? Returning to Asgard to see Uncle Thor for the first time in three months? These kiddies are gonna have grown massive from his perspective? Maybe the mighty king gets a little emotional at how quickly they're growing? LEMME KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS WANT! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. A Minor Reprieve</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The return to Asgard offers Amelia and Loki a chance to have some time to themselves.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>WHY did this chapter take me so long to write? I feel like I've been gone for centuries, I'm so sorry. I have been really busy and not had a lot of time to write :( Plus I've been doing more hours at work, all I want is MORE TIME to be able to write, ya dig me?</p><p>Anyway, sexual content ahoy because I need to make it up to you guys ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia was slightly embarrassed at the idea which had popped inconspicuously into her head the day before she, Loki and the babies were due to return to Asgard. It was innocent at first. Once Aster and Kari were settled in the palace once again, Amelia wanted to ask dear uncle Thor if he and Inga were free to babysit for the day - or at least for an afternoon - so that she and Loki could have a rest up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had been a little more of a struggle as of late, with Aster and Kari both learning to crawl, it made most mornings and evenings a bit of a hassle getting them in and out of their onesies and ready for the day, because all they wanted to do was crawl around, refusing to sit still for even a minute. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Diaper changing was even worse. Babies weren’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>aware </span>
  </em>
  <span>enough to realise just how disastrous it could be for them to explore the room before they were all cleaned up, and it had caused a few mishaps that were rather unpleasant. Why did those two little rascals have to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>active?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Either way, Amelia was just a tad exhausted. She wasn’t entirely sure whether Loki felt just as drained, or if she was the only weary one due to the fact she was human. For all she knew, Loki probably had enough energy left to run several times around the Earth before the enervation would even begin to show on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Regardless, it was time for Amelia and her husband to have a little time to themselves, and with their return to the Asgardian palace, she was confident that Thor and Inga would be perfect candidates to fill the roles of babysitters.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was delightful to touch down in the palace’s courtyard with the help of the Bifrost, to be greeted with the eager, warm face of Thor, who appeared just as excited to see them again. It had been three whole months, and in that time the babies had grown an overwhelming amount. It wasn’t as noticeable unless Amelia was </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>thinking about how big they had gotten in comparison to the day they were born, but for Thor - as somebody who hadn’t seen them for a chunk of time, it was plain as day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They’re so </span>
  <em>
    <span>big!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Was the first thing out of the king’s mouth as he glanced back and forth between the baby in Amelia’s arms and the baby in Loki’s arms. They were awake and fidgety, still looking a little frazzled from the rainbow light that had engulfed them minutes earlier, but thankfully weren’t crying.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thor’s smile was blindingly bright, as it always was whenever he looked upon his niece and nephew. “It’s so good to see you both again,” he spoke, sounding almost relieved that they were finally back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How have you been faring without me here to keep this place afloat?” Loki inquired casually.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thor snorted, rolling his eyes at his brother, “Well, the palace is still standing, isn’t it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His joking tone made Amelia giggle, and she stepped forward to hug Thor, noting that he was very mindful not to squash Kari in the enveloping embrace he gave her in return, “We’ve missed you, Thor,” she said softly, stepping back so that Kari could get a good look at his uncle. “Who’s this?” Amelia mock gasped, pointing up at the king as she observed Kari’s face, “Is it a big teddy bear? A big teddy bear that wants to give you a big hug?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari’s string of giggles was evoked by Amelia’s lilting voice, he looked up at Thor with a wondrous smile as he was handed over, seemingly very comfortable with being held by the king - Amelia was glad, because a part of her had been worried that the babies wouldn’t remember him after being away for three months, but it seemed like she hadn’t had to worry at all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With Kari cradled in one arm, Thor looked expectantly to Loki, offering his other arm to take Aster. Loki sighed, rolled his eyes, and passed the girl to his brother; Aster clutched the material of Loki’s jacket as she usually did when she didn’t want him to let go of her, but after a little bit of coaxing, she actually paid attention to who she was being handed to, and seemed to relax upon recognising him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look at you both, look how you’ve grown,” Thor doted, and in response Aster reached her hand up and dragged it across her uncle’s chin, feeling the scratchiness of his beard. She looked at her hand, an almost startled look on her face, probably from the sensory feedback of feeling the short, coarse hairs, and then she did it again, running her hand through Thor’s facial hair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, do you like my beard?” Thor spoke as if he had received the finest compliment. He carried the babies back into the palace, with Amelia and Loki trailing in behind, as if they were his own, and told them just how much he had missed seeing their little faces, and how excited he was to have them back. They were too preoccupied with touching Thor’s beard or his cape to really pay any mind to what he was saying to them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was two days later in the banquet hall at lunch time that Amelia began to think thoughts that were less than virtuous.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If Thor and Inga agreed to look after Aster and Kari - and Amelia had no doubt that they would do so happily, and have a great time doing it - she and Loki would have plenty of time to do… </span>
  <em>
    <span>things. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Things that they had been wanting to do for a while now. Things that had to be pushed aside in favour of looking after their two children.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia had paused partway through eating as her mind went adventuring to the more titillating areas of her brain, pushing pleasant images into the forefront of her thoughts; she found herself staring openly at her husband across the table, thinking about all the things she would do to him the moment she had the chance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He ate his buttered bread slowly, his intent gaze on Kari who was currently in the care of Thor - the king was playing with him, the little boy sitting on the table in front of him, and Amelia figured the concerned hint in Loki’s stare was owing to the fact that he feared Kari could fall off the table at any moment. Amelia would share this concern if it wasn’t for the fact that Thor was clearly ready with his hands to scoop the boy up the moment he chose to move even a muscle. Loki was, as always, overly protective. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had nothing to worry about, Thor had already shown Amelia many times that he was serious when it came to ensuring the safety of the little ones whenever he got the chance to hold them or play with them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It didn’t change the fact that Loki looked very attractive when his brow was furrowed in concern, especially when pointed in the direction of his children. Amelia found it incredibly sweet just how closely he kept an eye on them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia wanted to touch him in the privacy of their royal bedroom, to unbutton his silky green shirt and push the material down over his shoulders so that she had access to his beautiful, pale chest. She’d graze her fingertips over his skin until he shivered at the feather-light touches and she would absolutely relish the moment. She would kiss him slowly, their hot lips pressed together, drinking each other in, swallowing each other’s moans. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia could feel her lower abdomen growing hot inside with desire. It had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>too damn long.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She could perfectly visualise in her mind just how things would go; Loki would grow impatient with her teasing contact and take control, manhandling her into position with her back against the soft mattress of the bed, he’d crawl over her and begin kisses every inch of her body, doing everything he could to make her desperate with need, trembling from his ministrations, and he would make her beg before finally giving in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The thought of having Loki inside her gave her pleasant tingles between her legs, and she subconsciously pressed her thighs together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Amelia? Hellooooo? Oh dear, I think your mother is in a trance,” Signy’s voice fluttered through Amelia’s focus and she inhaled quickly, realising there was saliva slowly escaping the corner of her mouth. She had been caught drooling, </span>
  <em>
    <span>ugh.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia quickly wiped her mouth with her sleeve, her cheeks burning bright red as she looked to Signy beside her, then down to Aster who was being gently bounced in the Asgardian woman’s lap, looking up at her with a curious expression.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine, sorry,” Amelia quickly answered her friend, noticing that Loki’s stare had drifted to her in her peripheral vision. He gave her an odd look, and Amelia shook her head dismissively, shrugging her shoulders as she tried to look inconspicuous and not like she had just been envisioning herself getting fucked by her dear husband.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia looked down the table, spotting Inga and Thor making silly faces at Kari. She needed to ask them at some point, but she knew it would be difficult to convince Loki to take the kids off his mind for one day so that they could do what they wanted in peace. Which left Amelia only one idea - to ask Thor and Inga in secret and then spring it onto Loki on the day.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was only seconds before Amelia opened her mouth to ask her brother-in-law whether he could watch the kids that Thor, the King of Asgard, was likely a very busy man. He was in charge of a whole kingdom, there was no way he was going to have the time to watch Aster and Kari for an entire day. But Amelia had come this far, so it was worth a shot asking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey… Thor.” She began awkwardly. Loki had taken Kari off to change him, which gave her a few spare moments to broach the question to the king, so she couldn’t dawdle for too long or her chance would quickly pass - it was difficult to get away from Loki without arousing any suspicion, and Amelia wasn’t the greatest liar.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you enjoying being back at the palace, Amelia?” Thor queried. He was presently entertaining Aster, playing peekaboo by repeatedly hiding and revealing a little plush toy bear, and the little girl seemed very amused by it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Or maybe she was just very amused by Thor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s wonderful and I’m so happy to be back, but I wanted to ask you something,” she trailed off, hesitating, and Thor looked up at her, a hint of consideration in his gaze. Amelia pushed herself to ask, “Um, well… for the past six months, we’ve constantly had our hands full with the kids, so we haven’t really gotten a day to ourselves at all. I know you’re super busy, so I won’t be shocked if you say no, but I was wondering… perhaps… would you and Inga be able to watch them for a while? Just for tomorrow - or maybe just the afternoon - so we can, ah, have a little time to… recuperate.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She made sure to be vague about exactly why she was requesting this of him, because being candid with him about the matter would bring her a lot of embarrassment. However, the king smirked, his eyes alight with understanding, which made Amelia think that he probably knew precisely why she was asking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Amelia, I’m never too busy to do you a favour. I may be the king, but I’m also Aster and Kari’s uncle. I’d be happy to watch them for the day,” he glanced at Aster, giving the little one a wink, “isn’t that right, little one? We’ll have some fun tomorrow while your mother and father take a break.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Relief washed through Amelia’s body, the gratitude showing on her face, “Thor… thank you, you don’t know how much I appreciate this. Oh, but- I haven’t told Loki yet, kinda wanted to surprise him,” she gave a bashful grin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see,” Thor looked amused, “Inga and I will take them at breakfast in the morning and return them in the evening, you can count on us - we’ll take good care of them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know you will,” Amelia sighed, “thank you again, Thor. You’re awesome, you know that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thor grinned as Aster reached up and began rubbing her hands through his beard again, “Oh yes, I’m well aware.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia knew for a fact that Loki had picked up on her excitable energy when they had settled in for bed that night, partly owing to the fact that she kept shifting every five minutes and struggled to get to sleep, and perhaps also because she couldn’t stop smiling as she snuggled up to her husband, imagining with extreme enjoyment all the things they would get up to the next day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was no better the next morning, her high spirits blatant as she performed her morning routine, making sure the babies were fed, changed and happy for when Thor and Inga would take them off for the day. Loki still had no idea, and it wasn’t long before the king came knocking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you so chipper about, exactly?” Loki inquired after exiting the bathroom to the sound of his wife humming melodically - not that that was an unusual occurrence, but it was obvious Amelia had been hiding something from him since the night prior, and Loki usually would’ve figured out what that was by now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just delighted to be back in Asgard. It’s a beautiful place and a whole different atmosphere from the busy city,” Amelia explained, the words rolling off her tongue - very conveniently, it wasn’t a lie.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmm,” was Loki’s succinct response. He came around the bed where Amelia was sitting on the edge and eyed her with suspicion, eyelids lowered in a narrow gaze, eyebrows furrowed; his intense scrutiny made her shiver, and the little smirk on his face made her feel electrified, further solidifying the fact that she and Loki needed a day together to fuck through the sexual tension.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you going to tell me the real reason, or not?” Loki asked in a low voice, crossing his arms over his chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia bit her lip, glanced over to the kids and then back up to her husband and shrugged her shoulders, “I’m not gonna tell you yet, you’ll find out soon enough.” Loki quirked an eyebrow at her mischievous answer, clearly he hadn’t expected her to say that, and it only fuelled his curiosity. He started looking around the room, trying to figure out what on earth Amelia was hinting at, to which she laughed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then, just on time, there was a knock at the door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki paused his perusal of the room, looking curiously to the door and then to Amelia. “Yes?” he enquired loudly, expecting a response from a maid or a guard, but instead received a reply from his brother.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Loki, I’m here at Amelia’s request!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now Loki’s eyebrows were quirked in suspicion, narrow and angled at his wife, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Why?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia snorted and called out, “Come in, Thor!” She stood and approached the cribs to check on the mood of her babies. Kari was sucking on his own big toe and Aster was sitting up, looking awfully impatient and exasperated at the fact she had not been picked up, despite having already received cuddles earlier that morning. Overall, they appeared content in that they weren’t about to cry their heads off for any particular needs they may have. Good. She hoped Thor and Inga would have an easy day taking care of them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why exactly are you here?” Loki questioned as his brother walked through the door with Inga stepping in behind, the Asgardian woman trying her best to hide the knowing smile on her face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m here for the children,” said Thor, shuffling up to Aster’s crib. As soon as Aster spotted the opportunity for attention, she raised her arms expectantly, and Thor abided her request, lifting her up into his arms joyfully; the baby babbled happily, her hands going immediately to his beard - Amelia suspected that she found a sensory delight in feeling the coarse hairs against her palms, it was utterly adorable to witness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki glared at his brother for a few moments before scoffing, “Tch. Go make your own.” He stepped forward to take his daughter back but Thor withdrew, turning quickly so that Aster was out of her father’s reach, and the king looked to Amelia for help.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s okay, Loki,” Amelia chuckled, “I asked them to watch the kids for the day.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki looked at her like she was mad, “Come again?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Inga walked around Thor to pick Kari out of his crib and the baby boy rewarded her with a gleeful squeal, “How’s this little darling this morning?” Kari reacted positively to her sweet, melodic voice, giving her a huge open-mouthed grin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thor and Inga have agreed to watch the kids today, so that we can have a day to ourselves,” Amelia explained, carefully watching Loki’s reaction, “I figured it was about time we had a short break, and the kids are more than happy with these two.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki narrowed his eyes and sighed as he looked back at his brother. He seemed to eye the kids with uncertainty, mulling it over in his head - forever concerned that he could never be sure the kids were safe if they weren’t with </span>
  <em>
    <span>him, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and him alone. This was exactly why he needed a break, in Amelia’s opinion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thor and Inga will look after them, you don’t need to be worried,” Amelia tried, “your brother is one of the strongest people we know, and if they fall ill or somehow get hurt, Inga is literally the best healer.” The couple in question brightened at the praise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia stood from the bed and came to her husband’s side, holding onto his forearm, batting her eyelids delicately, “Come on, love. It’ll be fine.” Loki examined his wife’s face, and Amelia made sure to throw in the extra cute puppy-dog eyes - after a few seconds, his brow unfurrowed and he turned his eyes on Thor and Aster.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You best behave,” said Loki.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m sure she will,” Thor laughed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was talking to </span>
  <em>
    <span>you.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thor’s smile turned into a pout, but it didn’t stick for too long, “Right, well, we’ll take these two down to the breakfast hall and feed them. We were thinking of taking them for a walk in the gardens, and then they can have their nap after that,” Thor smiled at Aster, “does that sound like a good idea, little one?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster made what </span>
  <em>
    <span>sounded </span>
  </em>
  <span>like a noise of agreement, and that was all the reassurance Thor needed. Amelia quickly fetched the duffel bag full of baby supplies - from diapers to bottles of milk she had pumped that morning, and a few jars of baby food for later in the day; she had outlined the day before when they would need to feed them milk and when they could treat them to some solid food.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aster can be a little fussy with the solid food, so make sure she eats at least half a jar, but if she insists on refusing it for more than a few minutes, don’t force it,” Amelia explained, “oh and when you’re changing Kari’s diaper, I’ve found that singing a song tends to keep him occupied and he won’t try to crawl away.” She handed the bag over and proceeded to give both Aster and Kari a kiss on the forehead, “If you end up </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>struggling with them, I will understand if you need to bring them back… they can be a handful.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A small part of her felt almost forlorn to part with them, if only for a day, but she knew it was only because it would be the first day since they were born that she would be apart from them. Perhaps that was also the reason Loki was reluctant to watch Thor take them away for the day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure everything will be fine,” Inga assured them, “I’ve cared for infant patients before, so I know how to look after babies, you need not worry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you for this, we owe ya one.” Amelia smiled, and gave her children a little wave as Thor and Inga left the room. She knew there was truly nothing to fear, but she hoped Aster and Kari would behave - their mischievous streak was almost too much for Loki to handle sometimes, what with their propensity to crawl away at the worst of times.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door fell shut behind them, and Amelia sighed, feeling her body flop slightly in relief, before she turned to Loki, and was surprised to find him pinning her with a low-key glare.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Amelia squeaked, finding immediate amusement in his expression.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki stepped towards her, his frame slightly hunched as if he was stalking his prey, “Nice of you to talk things through with me, Amelia,” he began, sarcasm on full display, “I wonder what kind of plans you have for us today, given that we are unlikely to be interrupted. Do you perhaps want to visit the library, maybe partake in a game of chess? Or did you have other things in mind?” He was just teasing her now, and Amelia did not appreciate being teased, especially since she’d been wound tight since the day before.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well… what do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>want to do first?” Amelia spoke, her voice low with a suggestive lilt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do I want to do first?” Loki parroted softly, his breath hot against Amelia’s neck as he leant in, lips brushing her ear, “Do you even have to ask?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In an instant, Amelia went from standing upright to being flat on her back upon the bed of soft furs, letting out a short yelp at the suddenness of it, but was promptly cut off as her husband began to kiss her; not like the chaste or softly drawn-out kisses she had received whenever they were in the presence of the babies, but rather something truly desperate and animalistic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia was practically dizzy with it by the time Loki pulled away, and she saw immediately that his pupils were blown with arousal and excitement, and his cheeks were pink as he panted, a slight quiver in each breath. It really had been far too long if a simple, passionate kiss was enough to set him off like this.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Loki, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>need </span>
  </em>
  <span>you,” Amelia whispered, her heart pulsing in her chest, just as turned on as the man above her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then you’ll have me,” Loki responded, dipping down to suck the sensitive spots on Amelia’s neck, and they </span>
  <em>
    <span>were </span>
  </em>
  <span>sensitive. Amelia struggled to suppress the gasps and moans that Loki’s actions pulled from her, she bit her lip, her breaths catching in her throat, and then she realised - </span>
  <em>
    <span>why the hell was she trying to be quiet?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki must have been thinking the same thing, “I want to hear you, Amelia. Don’t you </span>
  <em>
    <span>dare </span>
  </em>
  <span>try to be quiet, </span>
  <em>
    <span>little dove.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> He nibbled a spot just below her ear which made her toes curl; she pressed her thighs together in an automatic response, releasing a needy sigh as she tilted her head to one side - she was so enthralled by the feeling of his tongue on her skin that she almost missed the use of </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>nickname.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That wasn’t fair. He wasn’t allowed to call her that unless she was expecting it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Loki, I swear to every god in existence, if you don’t fuck me right now, I will </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>suck your dick again.” Regardless of whether her words were empty threats, that one always seemed to get her what she wanted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki pulled back, his slightly parted lips wet from the kisses he had covered her neck with, and a subtle smile formed on his face just moments before he took a fistful of her gown and ripped it in half, pulling it effortlessly away from her body like it was made of tissue paper.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You-!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia was caught between arousal and irritation, she’d liked that dress, but she appreciated that Loki wasn’t going to waste time fulfilling her desire. He was most certainly about to make it up to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia quickly pushed down her underwear, kicking it off the bed before spreading her legs, her breaths coming out laboured and hungry; before she could scold her husband for being overdressed, she caught herself stammering at the sight of his pants already pushed down, revealing his hard cock in hand, more than ready to do as she wished.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“O-oh,” Amelia breathed, relieved that they were finally, </span>
  <em>
    <span>genuinely </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to have sex again; her clit pulsed at the thought, and she could feel herself dripping wet, “please- Loki, please.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No need to beg, my love,” he whispered, leaning down to capture her lips as he lined himself up. Amelia felt the head of his cock brush up against her folds and she suddenly grew rigid, her hands flying to his shoulders to push him back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, wait, wait!” She cried, much to Loki’s dismay. He practically flinched back, confused and concerned at his wife’s sudden protests, until she went on to quickly explain the reason for her call to cease, “We- we don’t have any birth control!” Her hand went to her temple bashfully, “We forgot to bring condoms.” It was perhaps the biggest error, in her mind, but Amelia really didn’t want to risk getting pregnant again so soon.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki relaxed, letting out a quiet huff, “Inga will have something you can take to prevent another pregnancy.” The impatience was palpable in his voice, but Amelia wasn’t sorry for wanting to be careful.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You mean like a morning-after potion?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, whatever the fuck that is, you won’t get pregnant again, now can I- please,” Loki grumbled, clearly agitated at being delayed when his body was clearly so ready. Amelia had to giggle despite herself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” she said, squeezing her thighs against Loki’s hips.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki’s cock slipped into her with ease, like a key fitting a lock, and a noise of pleasurable surprise left Amelia’s mouth; she could feel the obscene squelch as he pressed snugly inside her and Amelia was flooded with a wave of warmth. It felt so good to have him inside her again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sound of Loki’s pleasure only spurred Amelia’s own, she already felt horrendously close to dropping over the edge, which was both blissful and terrible given they had literally just begun. Amelia’s hand buried into his hair, pressing against his scalp, desperately wanting him to be closer still, as if they could meld together into one being of pure, intimate love.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmph… I’ve missed this,” Loki admitted with a groan, “I don’t think I can go slow.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t go slow.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki grunted. At once, he began to piston his hips in and out of her at a speedy pace, and Amelia let her delight be known to anybody who may have been passing by outside the door at that moment, not even thinking of stifling her rapturous moans.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The expectation Amelia had held since the day before had been that of savouring this moment, allowing herself to drown in the euphoria at a more leisurely pace, but that notion had shattered quickly when it actually came down to it. There was no savouring it. Amelia was drooling for it, and she had definitely been overestimating her own patience.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was like being handed a glass of water after walking through a hot desert for days, that glass of water wasn’t going to be drunken slowly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia had already tipped over the edge before she’d even realised it. Her orgasm was explosive, zipping throughout her body like ocean waves, again and again, and it left her shaking, the tremors causing her muscles to twitch beyond her control.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her mouth had opened in a silent scream, followed by noisy moans as she tried to catch her breath. No longer than a minute later, Loki finished inside her, the wet heat of his come filling her up wonderfully. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He trembled as he let himself collapse against her, the silk of his shirt sticking to her nude body due to the layer of sweat on their bodies. Amelia didn’t care about that though, she clutched Loki in her arms, holding him tightly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, baby,” Amelia whined, “we’re gonna have to do that at least three more times today.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki’s responding laughter was muffled against her skin, “I’m counting on it.”</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Meanwhile, in the breakfast hall, Aster is spitting out all the baby food Thor is trying to feed her with and Kari is discovering his inner artist finger-painting with soup on the napkins. </p><p>I HAVE A QUESTION GUYS, are you all chill with me doing larger time skips? I'm planning to cover all the good main things with first steps and first words, etc, but I wanted to double check that you're all happy for me to jump ahead? I do have a plot for this story but it won't be relevant until a little later in, and I'll be honest, I really wanna get to that plot, LOL.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. Steps to Success</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Loki tries to encourage the kids to take their first steps.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>All of your comments are so friggin lovely! I read every single one even if I don't reply to them so thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to leave a comment when you do! &lt;3</p><p>So, I've planned out a lot of my future chapters more in-depth than before and I can safely say that this fic will be AT LEAST 46 chapters long ;) I might stretch it to 50 if I can figure out some cute in-between chapter moments JUST to have that milestone though xD</p><p>I hope you enjoy this chapter my lovelies &lt;3</p><p>Time skip from the last chapter: The babies are now 9 months old.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster and Kari were fast learners, especially when they could figure things out from observing each other - two baby heads were better than one, and as such, they were constantly absorbing new information and building on it, demonstrating that they were smarter than the average nine-month-old.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The kicker was getting the idea or notion into their heads in the first place, allowing them to realise they could </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>something, all they had to do was surmise exactly </span>
  <em>
    <span>how </span>
  </em>
  <span>to go about doing it. Once they’d had that realisation, their brains were firing off into problem-solving mode, and it was a simple matter of time before they were able to grasp it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Crawling, for example, had been clear for the two infants. They needed to get from point A to point B, and they discovered that the only way to do that was to move their bodies in a comfortable way that propelled them forwards. Easy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Walking, on the other hand, was a far more difficult concept.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki and Amelia thought it would be straight-forward enough given how quickly they had picked up crawling, but there was something they hadn’t considered about the way a baby’s mind worked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Despite encouraging the little ones to pull themselves onto two legs every day, Aster and Kari both found it far easier to simply crawl everywhere - and why wouldn’t they? Why would they put in the extra effort just to be a little bit further from the ground when they move?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They knew they could get from point A to point B through crawling, so what motivation did they have to walk? This was the rather frustrating issue that Amelia and Loki couldn’t quite communicate to their little ones, and it resulted in a lot of trial and error. Patience was key, but it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>hard to be patient when Amelia was so excited at the prospect of her little ones walking around on two legs and reaching that milestone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Learning to walk was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>slow </span>
  </em>
  <span>process, that’s what all the child-raising books said. Obviously, Aster and Kari needed time to build up the muscles in their legs and to learn the coordination to put one leg in front of the other. It wasn’t something that could be rushed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The first time Aster and Kari managed to stand upright by themselves for more than two seconds, Amelia practically exploded with delight, to the point that she almost cried. She was just so </span>
  <em>
    <span>happy </span>
  </em>
  <span>to see her son and daughter growing up, and Loki had found Amelia’s glowing expression to be oh so beautiful.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So, how </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>one convince their child that walking was the way to go? Loki had his methods, which mostly involved bribes. Toys, pacifiers and food; Loki tried anything and everything he knew the kids loved.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They had taken to attempting to teach the children to walk in the nursery, Amelia lifting them up till they were standing on wobbly legs while Loki sat across the room clutching their favourite toys, but it was slow progress. Then again, that was better than no progress.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on Kari. Walk to Kangaroo,” Loki urged, shaking the boy’s favourite toy in his hand, “if you even </span>
  <em>
    <span>think </span>
  </em>
  <span>about crawling over here again, I will obliterate it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari, thinking it was a highly amusing game, the objective of which was to frustrate dada, immediately launched himself into a crawl, approaching Loki like a torpedo on his hands and knees with a huge giggly grin on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki held Kangaroo out of reach of the boy, who proceeded to try and climb up and reach for it, and gave Amelia a weary glance. Amelia licked her lips sheepishly and shrugged, crossing the room to pick Kari up and try again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was quite a grind, but both Loki and Amelia knew to stay patient, and that trying to push them to figure it out rather than let it come naturally to them was probably not the way to go. Still, that didn’t stop Loki from using certain items to his advantage.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It just so happened, several weeks beforehand, Amelia had discovered that both Kari and Aster were utterly insatiable when it came to chocolate-pudding baby food. They loved the stuff so much that they would get very moody when Amelia put the jar down, claiming that they had had enough.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At least they had found a food that Aster would happily gobble down, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>was why Loki figured it was the perfect incentive for two chocolate-loving babies.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki stood by the sofa in the communal living quarters, looking quite full of determination as he stared across the padded flooring where his two children were currently sitting and playing with their soft toys. He had the jar clutched in one hand, and a small spoon in the other, and in his head he had a plan.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aster, Kari.” He spoke, drawing the attention of his two little ones; they both glanced up with wide eyes and curious expressions. Loki walked towards them and knelt down, unscrewing the lid of the jar. They needed to see their prize before he put his plan into action, so that they would covet it accordingly, “You know what this is?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He held the jar in front of Aster’s face first, and she predictably tried to push it away out of reflex, but there was a notable moment where she must have caught the scent of the chocolate, and she instantly changed her mind, trying to grab onto her daddy’s hand to bring it closer. When Loki held the jar in front of Kari’s face, he very nearly almost shoved his entire hand into it, being the food-lover he was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once the babies both knew what was up for grabs, Loki rose to his full height, spooned a small heap of the chocolate pudding, and held it at just the right point where he knew Kari and Aster would be able to reach it if they stood up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As expected, they began pulling on the legs of his trousers and trying to reach with their arms above their heads, to no avail.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you want this pudding, you’re gonna have to work for it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They both used Loki as a crutch to stand up, mouths open like baby birds in a nest, desperate for a taste of the sweet, sweet chocolate-flavoured pudding.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, good. That’s the first step,” he fed them each a small heap of it as a congratulations for doing the bare minimum - they needed to know they were going in the right direction, and with any luck they would begin to understand that being up on their feet meant they would be rewarded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia walked in at that moment and paused mid-step, “Uh, what are you doing?” The sight of Loki bent over, feeding the children chocolate pudding while they wobbled on their legs, clutching onto him tightly was tremendously odd.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Teaching them how to walk,” Loki explained without taking his eyes off the little ones.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is that what you’re doing? It looks more like you’re training puppies, but okay,” Amelia smirked as she circled around them, and noticed Loki’s nose scrunch up in response to her ridiculous observation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You mock me now, but when they walk, you will </span>
  <em>
    <span>praise </span>
  </em>
  <span>my methods.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia almost snorted. He sounded ridiculous, but she supposed there was a chance it might work, and if it did, she would be undeniably ecstatic; so he decided to sit back on the couch to watch and wait.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She watched in great amusement as Loki took small steps away from them, urging them to move with him but ensuring they were still able to grip onto his leg and use it for balance. The children followed him eagerly for another taste of chocolate pudding, occasionally wobbling and falling down, but pulling themselves back up with determination. It was progress to see them taking the initiative to support themselves with Loki’s help, but it was beyond funny that the reasoning behind their success was </span>
  <em>
    <span>chocolate pudding.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a few more moments, Loki stepped away entirely, leaving Kari and Aster to wobble in place, their little faces holding a smidgen of panic as they fought to stay upright, arms flying out to aid their stability, and Amelia froze, waiting to see what they would do.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki held out a spoonful of pudding several feet away at eye-level, a prize for whichever child was fast enough. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rather adorably, Aster’s little hand gripped onto Kari’s shoulder to help her stay upright, which made Kari wobble further, but he didn’t fall. He managed to stay standing, finding his footing after a few awkward moments.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on. Come on, come to me,” Loki told them, “just a few steps, come on.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unwilling to let the pudding get away, Aster stuck one foot out and brought it down in front of herself, transferred her weight clumsily, and then did the same again with the other, letting go of her brother in order to progress.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Aster,” Loki’s eyes shone with pride, and Amelia leaned forward on the edge of her seat in awe that Loki’s hilarious idea had actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>worked.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster did it again, taking another step as she was spurred on by her daddy’s excitement, but her centre of balance must’ve tilted forwards because she took three steps in quick succession in an attempt to catch herself, before falling forwards against the floor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While the floor was padded, her face still hit it rather suddenly, drawing a loud gasp from Amelia and causing Loki to go rigid and murmur a quiet ‘oh dear.’</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster looked up, seeing her parents’ concerned stares, and then her face scrunched up into a wounded expression as she began to hysterically cry. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki reacted quickly, placing the spoon and the jar on the coffee table in front of Amelia before swooping down to lift his daughter up off the floor and into his arms; he held her to his shoulder, petting her hair apologetically. “Hey, don’t cry. You did so well,” he told her gently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clint walked past them at that moment, heading for the kitchen, “Rule one of parenting, </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>react when the kid falls down. They’ll only cry if </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> think they’ve hurt themselves.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia bit her lip to hide a sheepish grin while Loki glared at the back of the man’s head; he lifted Aster up higher and wiped her wet face with his shirt sleeve as the little girl looked back at him with a wobbling lip, naturally ignoring Clint’s input.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari had long since dropped to his hands and knees again, far too tired to stand on two legs for too long at a time, but his desire for chocolate pudding had not yet been sated. He spotted it on the low table next to his mama and crawled towards her, gurgling happily in contrast to his tearful sister. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Helloooooo baby boy,” Amelia sang, lifting her son up into her arms. She planted a kiss on his forehead and watched as he tried to reach for the jar on the table, “Oh, I see. You weren’t just coming to me for a cuddle. You want more pudding, huh?” She obliged him, picking up the jar.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is your nose okay?” Loki asked, tapping Aster’s nose with the tip of his finger; her eyes were still bleary and she rubbed at them with a fist, sniffing loudly and whimpering. She hiccupped, looked over at mama, and began whining a little louder, pointing in her direction.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki turned to see Amelia giving Kari a spoonful of the pudding and chuckled at Aster’s pouty expression, “You think some more chocolate pudding will make your nose feel better?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster stared at him with her watery green eyes, her little furrowed brow showing her displeasure at being kept away from the jar of tasty pudding, so Loki carried her to the couch to join his wife, seating his daughter in his lap. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good effort today, both of you,” Loki praised them, “keep that up, and you’ll be running by Christmas.” His remark made Amelia snort.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster whined steadily until Amelia blessed her with a spoon of chocolatey goodness. One spoon was definitely not enough, and the girl made sure to grumble wordlessly every time a helping was given to Kari instead of her, even though Amelia was distributing it evenly between them and feeding them with alternating mouthfuls.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“These two little chocolate monsters,” Amelia murmured, subconsciously quickening the action of lifting the spoon from the jar to Aster’s mouth every time she let out a whine - as if the little one was saying ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>hurry up mama, I’m starving!’</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s playing you both,” Clint spoke up on his way back to the couch, a freshly plated sandwich in hand, “she’s learned the art of manipulation already - cry until you get what you want, and you’re just </span>
  <em>
    <span>giving </span>
  </em>
  <span>it to her.” He sounded more amused than anything, and Loki readily shot him another glare.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nobody asked for your opinion.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was pointing it out for your benefit,” Clint defended, “unless you wanna hear Aster crying for chocolate pudding day in and day out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Regardless of whether Clint was right or wrong, it did not matter. Just this once, at least, Aster would get her fill of pudding, because Loki felt more than a little guilty at pushing her too quickly and causing her fall in the first place.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I know this chapter was shorter than usual but I HOPE YOU ENJOYED &lt;3 Please do leave me a comment letting me know your thoughts!</p><p>In the next chapter: FIRST WORDS. The next chapter should be longer than this one ;)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0028"><h2>28. A Figure of Speech</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>IT'S TIME FOR LITTLE BABY TO SAY FIRST WORD!!!</p><p>My goodness, how far we've come? The kids are around 10 months in this chapter, and so adorable, as always! I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari was an absolute chatterbox. Well, he couldn’t speak comprehensible words yet, but he really loved to make noise. He strung together irregular syllables quite expertly, not making sense but certainly understanding the dynamic of a conversation. He knew that speaking noise in the vague direction of a person would garner their attention, and then said person would make noise back, and he understood that it was then his turn to make noise, and so on, which led to delightful moments during playtime with the kids.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari squeezed his Kangaroo toy, cuddling it to his chest whilst making plenty of wordless noises before holding it up to his dada, who took it carefully, looking it over curiously; then matter-of-factly remarked, “Hm, his fur </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>a lovely brown colour, isn’t it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy’s grin only grew, and he pointed at Kangaroo, another stream of syllables leaving his mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“His fur used to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>purple?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki chuckled aloud, “Don’t be silly, kangaroos aren’t purple.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari squealed, snatching Kangaroo back so he could chew on the stuffed animal’s ear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>certain? </span>
  </em>
  <span>I’ve never seen a purple kangaroo in my life, but you sound so convincing, I might just believe it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This time, Kari gave what sounded like a thoughtful hum, but was probably only just good timing, before dropping Kangaroo to the floor and pushing himself to his feet - now with the developing ability to walk with just a </span>
  <em>
    <span>slight</span>
  </em>
  <span> wobble to his gait - and he climbed onto Loki’s knees where his dada was knelt before him on the floor, little hands gripping the material of his shirt to aid in the boy’s ascent.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah-bah bah bah,” said Kari.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you want a hug? Well why didn’t you just say so?” Loki responded, drawing Kari up into his arms fondly, a warm smile on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mm-muh,” Kari hummed, pressing his face against Loki’s cheek, and for a brief moment Loki thought the boy had almost said ‘mama’, but another moment of consideration had him surmising that he was simply copying the action that Amelia often performed when she kissed the children on the cheek and over exaggerated the ‘mwah’ sound.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki chuckled, rubbing his hand through Kari’s thin, black curls. The boy was very affectionate and smiley, a pure copy of his mother, who loved to endlessly shower both him and his sister in kisses and snuggles.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where’s mama, hmm?” Loki asked the boy. At his current age, Kari likely recognised the word ‘mama’, but didn’t understand that it referred to his mother, however, he did seem to acknowledge that the word only seemed to pop up when Amelia was around, thus prompting him to turn his head and try to seek her out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia had gone to change Aster in the next room over, she probably wouldn’t be gone for much longer, and Kari would no doubt be happy to see her reappear. The boy was </span>
  <em>
    <span>always </span>
  </em>
  <span>happy to see his mama.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki tapped Kari’s nose, smirking when the boy swatted playfully at his hand. Amelia had a sort of no-stakes ‘bet’ concerning Kari; she thought she could get the boy to say ‘mama’ before </span>
  <em>
    <span>Loki</span>
  </em>
  <span> got the boy to say ‘dada’, and that whoever won the game was the ‘winner’. There was no prize for the winner except for bragging rights - it was just a harmless challenge that Amelia had proposed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had led to Amelia and Loki repeatedly telling the boy “Kari, can you say ‘mama’?” or “Say ‘dada’ and you can have more chocolate pudding,” until the little one got bored and returned to playing with his toys instead of entertaining his mother and father. He had yet to actually grasp </span>
  <em>
    <span>words, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and got easily overwhelmed when his parents got in his face and requested he say specific things, at which point he would blow raspberries at them or throw a toy at their faces. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They deserved it, to be honest. There was no sense in hounding the boy to say something; the kids had already proved that they learned at their own pace.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>However, Loki had a small secret.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wasn’t overly competitive with the notion of being the first word out of Kari’s mouth, and there was just something about Amelia’s enthusiasm and excitement that had Loki hoping the boy would say </span>
  <em>
    <span>mama </span>
  </em>
  <span>before anything else.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Which was why, whenever he had a moment alone with Kari, when Amelia had just so happened to walk out of earshot or left the room for whatever reason, Loki sat Kari down, looked in the boy’s eyes and demanded, “Say ‘mama’.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia didn’t have to know, and Loki would hopefully get to see her eyes light up like fireworks when Kari’s first word </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>inevitably ‘mama’. He practically drilled the word into the boy’s mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kari, I know you don’t understand me, so we’re going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>make </span>
  </em>
  <span>you understand. You </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>to say ‘mama’, preferably when mama is in the room. When you say ‘mama’, you will make your mama </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>happy, and you know what a happy mama means for you? All the chocolate pudding you could ever ask for. I mean it. Say mama. Say mama. Say mama. Mama, mama, mama,” Loki spoke over and over, repeating the word loud and clear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari chewed on Kangaroo’s ear again, looking idly up at his dada with an oddly surprised look. Maybe it was because Loki had given him a full on speech and usually, with the boy’s understanding, he usually gave him a few words and then paused to let Kari speak instead of rambling on like an idiot. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Or </span>
  </em>
  <span>perhaps Kari was confused because ‘mama’ wasn’t the word that dada usually asked him to try and say, and he had picked up on the switch around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kari,” Loki said determinedly, “say </span>
  <em>
    <span>mama.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ub-bub-bub-bub-bah-bah,” Kari exclaimed instead, pointing at Loki’s face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki feigned a gasp, placing his palm over his chest in mock offense, “How </span>
  <em>
    <span>dare </span>
  </em>
  <span>you say such a thing?” Kari happened to find his dada’s response incredibly hilarious, because a stream of hysterical giggles escaped his mouth then.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia walked in at that moment with Aster balanced on her hip, “What? What did he say?” From the hopeful, surprised look in her eyes, she must’ve thought her son had actually managed to string a word together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He said that my face was hideous. Can you believe this? My own son…” Loki faked a wobbly lip, looking away and blinking his eyes as if to dispel tears.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia rolled her eyes, understanding her husband’s jesting and snorted, placing Aster down beside her brother. She sat before them, booping little Kari on the nose and beaming at the grin he gave her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello, pumpkin. Can you say ‘mama’?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki smiled, eyeing his wife briefly - she probably assumed he had spent every last second trying to get the boy to say ‘dada’ while she was out of the room, but she was so very wrong. He looked to his son next, who turned to look at </span>
  <em>
    <span>him, </span>
  </em>
  <span>holding eye contact for an amusingly long time; Loki wondered what was going on inside Kari’s head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not dada. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mama,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia articulated, “you gonna speak for me, bug?” She used the nickname for her son endearingly and Kari smiled in response.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhh-bah… bububub,” Kari mumbled, lifting himself shakily to his feet so he could fall into mama’s arms for a hug. Amelia obliged him, cuddling him securely with a happy sigh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mm, very insightful words,” Loki pointed out as if speaking with the utmost seriousness, making Amelia giggle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nice to know he inherited your levels of articulation,” Amelia joked, rubbing circles on Kari’s back, “Bet he’ll be great at telling stories when he gets older, just like his dada.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah-da,” Kari murmured, and Amelia suddenly froze.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” Amelia said, “Noooooo no no, you say </span>
  <em>
    <span>mama, </span>
  </em>
  <span>okay bug? Mah-mah,” she quickly reprimanded herself for even saying the word ‘dada’ in front of the boy, because of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course </span>
  </em>
  <span>the one goddamn time she said </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> word, Kari would try and repeat it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki laughed at Amelia’s overreaction, “Sounds like he almost said dada. Is that a win for me?” While it warmed his heart to hear his son very nearly </span>
  <em>
    <span>almost </span>
  </em>
  <span>say dada, he still held out hope that Kari would say ‘mama’ before anything else.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” Amelia gave her husband a playful glare, “he didn’t say it, it doesn’t count.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well then,” Loki smiled, “you better start trying to convince him to say ‘mama’ soon, because it’s clearly only a matter of time before he strings together a cohesive word.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“True,” Amelia spoke, and then breathed a small sigh, looking over to where Aster was several feet away, “I’m not sure about her, though.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki’s eyes landed on his daughter. She was knelt on the carpet, leaning over a children’s book - </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Rainbow Fish </span>
  </em>
  <span>- and looking at the colourful images upon its pages with an abundance of intrigue, touching her fingertips to the shiny fish scales on each page.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster was not a chatterbox. In fact, she was about as far from it as one could possibly be. Unlike her brother, Aster did not really make noises beyond crying or laughing; she had no problems screaming her head off if things weren’t going her way - for example, if she wasn’t allowed anymore chocolate pudding, she would easily prove just how powerful her set of lungs were. When something happened that she found amusing, like when Amelia nuzzled her nose into Aster’s belly, or when Loki tickled her, or when Tony pulled ridiculous faces at her, she would let out screeching laughter that brought joy to everybody present.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She just didn’t make any sounds like her brother. No </span>
  <em>
    <span>uh-buh-bubs </span>
  </em>
  <span>or </span>
  <em>
    <span>bah-bahs, </span>
  </em>
  <span>which appeared to be Kari’s favourite phrases. No nonsensical, random grumbly noises or loud </span>
  <em>
    <span>ahhhhhhhs </span>
  </em>
  <span>that Kari was so fond of agitating everybody with for the sake of his own amusement. Aster was just </span>
  <em>
    <span>quiet.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Of course, she had always been quiet. She was always less likely to cry, less likely to whine, less likely to start fussing, and neither Amelia or Loki had really questioned it until she’d reached the age where it was generally normal for kids to start mumbling syllables in a purposeful attempt to imitate or gain the attention of others. When she had failed to start up the habit, like her brother, Loki and Amelia grew just a little bit concerned. Amelia’s first idea was to read up in parenting books and research on the internet whether it was strange, but all of the forums she found were not relevant to their specific situations.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Some babies don’t speak until twelve months, </span>
  </em>
  <span>one of the users had pointed out, but that wasn’t really the focus of concern. It wasn’t that Aster wasn’t speaking, it was that she wasn’t making any of the usual noises that babies her age should.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She cooed and gurgled for the longest time, and then that stopped, as if she just didn’t want to do so anymore. Her hearing seemed perfectly fine, her vocal cords worked well enough for her to laugh and cry, so that wasn’t it either.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It seemed that no amount of encouragement on Amelia and Loki’s end was enough to persuade her to try and speak. The girl was fond of her pacifiers, too; she would always get moody or bring out the crocodile tears if either Amelia or Loki took her pacifier from her, so that made it extra difficult to get Aster to try and form sounds with her mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aster,” Loki called, and the girl looked up, “can you say ‘dada’?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster looked at him blankly for a moment and then pushed herself to her feet, squatting down to pick up the book as an afterthought, and carried it as she waddled over to him. Amelia had been the one to dress the girl that morning, and she had put her in a brand new dress they had bought a couple days prior. It was white with blue irises dotted across it in a repetitive pattern, and the brightness of it contrasted well with Aster’s black hair, which fell down just passed her ears. She looked </span>
  <em>
    <span>beyond </span>
  </em>
  <span>adorable, just the mere sight of her made Loki want to melt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He took the book tentatively when she handed it to him and she started climbing onto his legs with the intent of situating herself there, showing him clearly that she wanted him to read to her, so he shifted into a cross-legged position, allowing her room to sit in his lap. She fussed for a moment, getting herself comfortable, and then gripped the front cover of the book, pulling it open.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki complied, hunching over slightly so that he was closer to his daughter, and he began to read the story to her, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“A long way out in the deep blue sea, there lived a fish. Not just an ordinary fish, but the most beautiful fish in the entire ocean.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster’s hands were on the page immediately, pointing at the rainbow fish; she traced the glossy, shiny parts of the page that made up the fish’s glittering scales, clearly interested in the way the material felt different from the rest of the page. It was typical for her to do this with each and every page, and Loki only turned to the next page when </span>
  <em>
    <span>Aster </span>
  </em>
  <span>was ready to do so.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia always remarked on how impressed she was with Loki’s patience regarding the children, and Loki had to admit, he definitely had come a long way from the person he used to be. Having to wait for something had never been his strong suit, he was much more the kind of person to make things happen at his advanced pace, but ever since his children had been born, he’d had to curb that way of thinking.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was no need to rush things. No ominous feeling looming over him that urged him to hurry himself or anybody around him; there was just this blessed sensation that Loki had failed to place for a while, until finally he understood just what it was. It was security. He felt relaxed when he was in Avengers Tower with his family, knowing there were a handful of strong fighters around that would do anything and everything in their power to keep his Amelia, Kari and Aster safe.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was no imminent threat coming for them, nobody wanting to bring harm to his family; he was comfortable in the knowledge that they were anonymous to the world, and that was how it would remain.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So, Loki felt no urgent pressure to </span>
  <em>
    <span>go, go, go. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He would happily take his time raising his children, let them grow at their own pace, and he promised himself he would not try to rush them through it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster rubbed her palms across the next page, head tilted curiously as she sucked avidly on her pacifier, and yet again poked her fingers at all the shiny parts of the page. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And yet, </span>
  <em>
    <span>despite </span>
  </em>
  <span>this relaxed feeling that had befallen him at some point, Aster’s lack of vocal noises seemed to bother him just a little bit. His thoughts jumped rapidly between worries that something was wrong with her to agitation that it was somehow </span>
  <em>
    <span>his </span>
  </em>
  <span>fault that Aster wasn’t progressing the same way Kari was. He didn’t know what to make of it, and none of the parenting books he had read covered the subject, they all ensured that his children would gurgle and coo, and then make ooh and ahh sounds, and soon start to imitate the words of those around them. Kari had reached that step just fine, but Aster had stumbled away from step one in the wrong direction and decided to just be silent.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia had been the one to remind him that Kari was actually ahead in development, that children generally speak their first words between 11 and 13 months, but Kari was practically almost there at 10 months, so it was important that Loki allowed Aster time to catch up with her brother.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster turned the page and looked up at him, her big green eyes wide and expectant as she waited for him to continue reading. They were eyes that Loki most certainly could not say no to, so he obliged, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“His scales were every shade of blue and green and purple, with sparkling silver scales among them.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Patience was key, Loki reminded himself. He would wait it out and maybe Aster would just surprise him one day, speaking her first word without any warning. He wondered, in that case, what her first word might be.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thor was visiting the Tower two weeks later. He’d found some time in between running the kingdom to drop by and see the Avengers - but </span>
  <em>
    <span>mostly </span>
  </em>
  <span>he was there to see his niece and nephew, naturally. Even though they had been planning to return to Asgard before the month was up, the King clearly couldn’t stay away from the two little ones he loved so much.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had come bearing gifts with a huge grin on his face, holding up a package wrapped in brown paper and string, “A gift from Signy, for the children,” he’d explained, “it’s getting colder, she thought that perhaps these would come in handy for them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Amelia opened the gift up, she was greeted with two wool-knit blankets, one dark green and the other deep purple, and immediately she lit up in gratitude, “Oh, these are so wonderful! They’re so soft!” She would be sure to thank Signy the next time they saw each other, it was so sweet that the Asgardian woman had taken her time to knit blankets for the kids.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, how are the little prince and princess?” Thor inquired playfully to Kari, who was sitting on his lap and looking up at him with shining eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ooh-wah haa,” the boy cooed, followed by a sweet string of giggles, which more or less answered Thor’s question.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad to hear it,” Thor responded with a hearty chuckle, “And what about your sister?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster was wandering around on the padded flooring, not quite in the mood for cuddles and not really paying a lot of attention to Uncle Thor, much to his dismay.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aster?” Thor called, hoping to gain some notice from the little girl. She looked up at the sound of her name, blinking at Thor for all of two seconds before turning away and playing with her soft toys. Loki found it amusing how Thor pined for the child’s attention; Aster was a little more reserved than her brother and not as cuddly toward anybody who wasn’t himself, Kari or Amelia.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look Aster! What’s this?” Amelia gasped, holding up the purple wool-knit blanket she had pulled out of the package, “It’s a gift from Signy! A pretty, soft blanket!” Her excitable words immediately had the girl’s attention, and Aster waddled over tentatively, sucking on her pacifier as always. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instead of taking an interest in the blanket Amelia was holding, Aster patted her hand against the green one still folded in her mother’s lap, and promptly decided very quickly that she loved the soft feel of it against her hand. Her fingers clutched onto it like claws and she pulled it away, claiming it as her own almost immediately.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh!” Amelia exclaimed in amusement, “That’s okay, Kari can have the purple one.” She stood, walking to the chair Thor was sitting in and raised the blanket, placing it around Kari’s shoulders. The boy gurgled in merriment, grabbing the fabric and pulling it over his head like a hooded cloak - it was safe to assume that he liked it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster dragged the green blanket along with her as she stumbled up to Loki, holding onto his knee as she came to stop in front of him; she raised her arms and looked at him expectantly, and Loki deduced her wordless request, quickly wrapping her up in the blanket before lifting her onto his lap. The fabric was large enough to fully wrap around Aster twice, and she squealed as she was picked up and situated safely in her dada’s lap. The big smile on her face was evident of her delight, the pacifier almost fell from her lips, and for some reason she found it incredibly funny that her arms were trapped below the soft material, making her look like a blanket burrito.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki laughed subtly, hugging her to his chest, and brushed his lips against Aster’s forehead in a gentle kiss, only to realise after a moment that Amelia was staring at him with an insurmountably fond look on her face, eyes shining with love and adoration.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Loki asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia shook her head, smiling knowingly at her husband.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you know any words yet, little one? Hm? Can you say mama? Dada?” Thor asked Kari curiously, and before Amelia or Loki could casually remark that the boy was very stubborn and refused to say either of those words when asked, Kari said one word quietly, half distracted, like it was no big deal whatsoever.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mama.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki’s gaze zipped to his wife, and Amelia seemed to have a delayed reaction, as though she hadn’t even realised what Kari had said, but then she looked over at the child, eyes as wide as saucers, and squeaked in a high pitched voice, “Did you just say mama?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mama!” Kari giggled, parroting the word again, and Amelia all but flew across the sitting area, plucking her son up into her arms from a bewildered Thor’s lap, and she spun in a circle, letting out a cry of utter exuberance that was tinged with tearful disbelief. Loki couldn’t tell if she was laughing or crying, but he wouldn’t be surprised if she was doing both - Amelia tended to weep when she was beyond happy, and he found himself smiling both with pride and devotion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pride because his son had just spoken his first word, and devotion from the glee he felt at watching his wife light up the room in her bliss - thank the </span>
  <em>
    <span>gods </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kari had said the word ‘mama’ before ‘dada’, because it gifted him the captivating sight of his wife reacting with </span>
  <em>
    <span>peak </span>
  </em>
  <span>joy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my baby boy, my sweet baby boy,” she chanted, nuzzling her nose against Kari’s, drawing forth delightful laughter from the child. Loki bit his lip in an attempt to stop it from wobbling with emotion, he wouldn’t let his eyes get watery while his damn brother was present. He just couldn’t help but feel his heartstrings pull at the sight, being reminded that this was his family. His </span>
  <em>
    <span>family. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He would never get tired of that word.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia pulled herself together a bit, kissing her son on the cheek with an overexaggerated ‘mwah!’ sound before proceeding to stare at him with her winning smile, and Thor finally reacted after being visibly taken by Amelia’s joy, “What a smart little one! Can you say ‘Uncle Thor’?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that, a rich laughter escaped Loki’s throat, his brother was </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely </span>
  </em>
  <span>asking too much now, “You wish-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before Loki could finish that thought, Kari interrupted like a slap in the face, loudly proclaiming, “Tor!” and Thor’s jaw dropped, his face shining with amazement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki however, froze in </span>
  <em>
    <span>betrayal, </span>
  </em>
  <span>staring at his son with his mouth hanging open stupidly; Amelia was </span>
  <em>
    <span>laughing, </span>
  </em>
  <span>finding it oh so funny that Kari was yelling out his uncle’s name before saying the word ‘dada’. </span>
  <em>
    <span>How could he? </span>
  </em>
  <span>It was utterly tragic, and it almost completely ruined the excitement of his very first word.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong </span>
  </em>
  <span>with you, child?” Loki questioned with sheer incredulity, receiving only childish laughter from the boy in question. Instead, Loki glared at his brother, his face sharp and promising of a swift death thanks to the King’s very stupid idea to ask Kari to say his name. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki was more than happy to allow Amelia to be their son’s first word, but for him to not be </span>
  <em>
    <span>second?</span>
  </em>
  <span> That hadn’t been the plan!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thor merely shrugged his shoulders sheepishly, “Well hey, look at the bright side. You still have the chance to be Aster’s first word!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki opened his mouth to snap something witty and bitter in return, but stopped short, closing his mouth as he turned to look at his daughter, who returned his stare with curious, wide eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He gave a pause before reaching up to pull her pacifier out of her mouth, it released from her lips with a pop, and he gave her a very earnest, pleading look as he asked her, “Aster, can you say ‘dada’?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster looked up at him, green eyes shining, and she blinked, her long eyelashes fluttering against her pale cheeks, and then she opened her mouth, and Loki felt his heart thump in anticipation behind his ribcage.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girl wriggled in the confines of her blanket, looked to her pacifier which was held away in her father’s hand, and then gazed up at Loki, swallowing tightly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t say a word.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instead, her eyes grew glossy as a preface of the tears that would imminently follow if he didn’t return her pacifier to her mouth </span>
  <em>
    <span>immediately.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No? Okay, no. Sorry. Nevermind,” the words quickly tumbled out of Loki’s mouth as he slipped the object back into her mouth apologetically, squashing down the disappointment he felt at his daughter’s continued silence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, don’t you worry, brother!” Thor’s dumb voice cut through the silence, “I’m sure she’ll say it eventually.” It was clear he was trying to assure Loki because </span>
  <em>
    <span>he </span>
  </em>
  <span>was the one at fault for snatching up second place.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shut up, Thor.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tor!” Kari squealed again, only rubbing it in all the more painfully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>can shut up,” Loki pointed in his son’s direction, and Amelia looked slightly ruffled that he had just said that to her son, up until the boy let free a string of giggles yet again. Why did he have to be so giggly? Why did he find his father’s torment so unbelievably funny?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki sighed, looking down at Aster, whose tears had abated completely now that she had her beloved pacifier back. The question of why she hadn’t yet spoken a word remained unanswered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was simply a mystery, it seemed.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>What's up with Aster? Hmmm? ^_^ </p><p>Thank you to those of you who left a comment on the last chapter, I seriously appreciate it. I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter, I really hoped you enjoyed it. Please let me know what you think! &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0029"><h2>29. Give Me A Sign</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>At seventeen months, Aster still isn't talking. Loki and Amelia decide to see a specialist.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>HEY GUYS! I had some truly lovely comments on the last chapter that made me super happy. I'm so glad you're all enjoying this series, I have so much fun writing the blossoming relationships between Aster, Kari, Amelia and Loki. They're such a sweet family, and I really enjoy writing child/baby characters :') </p>
<p>The kids are seventeen months in this one, and I know what you're thinking - WHAT, KUMIKOSEPH, YOU MISSED THEIR FIRST BIRTHDAY? Hear me out, the first birthday is a big milestone, yes, BUT, I couldn't think of any particularly interesting ideas to cover on their first birthday, soooooooo I instead have plans for a later chapter for their fifth birthday perhaps. Either way, I'm sure y'all will enjoy this chapter anyway.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How’s playtime coming along?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia’s voice rang melodically through the nursery as she entered, carrying Kari’s and Aster’s snacks on a tray to where Loki was currently keeping the children entertained with some creative activities. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari was in the process of building a tower of building blocks, though so far he hadn’t managed to make the tower more than five blocks high without it collapsing to the floor - the toddler was growing a tad bit frustrated over this.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster had several plush toys sitting around her and she appeared to be methodically picking each of them up one by one to pat down their fur - if they were stuffed animals, or to run her fingers through their hair - if they were dolls. She took extra special care to sit them back down after she was done inspecting them, making sure they were sat upright and were neatly positioned.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki had been encouraging Kari to keep building up his tower, because the boy was in need of some emotional support over the fact that his glorious building blocks kept plummeting to the ground, while keeping an eye on Aster in his peripheral. He loved to wonder just what his young daughter was thinking about while she examined her toys and placed them orderly in front of her. She wasn’t overly interested in constructing a tower of blocks like her brother, she was more fascinated with her soft toys and the different materials they were made of.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Playtime is going well,” Loki answered his wife, smiling as he took the tray from her and placed it down beside him on the floor; Amelia had very kindly brought up some thin slices of apple, cucumber, and cheese for the little ones to eat. It was about time for their mid-morning snack, after all.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mama!” Kari exclaimed, arms spread wide in request of a hug, which Amelia happily indulged him with. She knelt down and gathered him up in her arms, giving him a warm kiss on the cheek.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey bug, I’ve got your num nums. Eat up!” She gently brushed her hand through Aster’s hair, even though the girl was entirely preoccupied with her dolls, and then leaned forward to kiss Loki, smiling contentedly once she pulled away. “I’m going to get changed, make sure Aster eats her cucumber. I’ll be back in a bit.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course,” Loki watched her leave the nursery with the intent to change out of her dressing gown and into some outdoor-appropriate clothing. After lunch, they were going to take Aster to a pediatrician who could hopefully give them a little insight into what exactly was going on in the girl’s mind.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She still didn’t speak. At seventeen months, it was beginning to seem like something to be fully concerned about, especially when she showed signs of a good understanding of some words and phrases spoken by either himself or Amelia. Aster reacted to certain words. She knew who to point at if Loki asked her to find her brother, or her mother, and she most definitely knew what was coming if the words ‘chocolate pudding’ were spoken aloud. Loki just couldn’t understand why his daughter couldn’t replicate the words spoken to her like her brother could.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They’d taken Aster to see Inga about it, but she had been just as stumped. All of her experience with young children was exclusively Asgardian toddlers - and it had been a while since there were any of </span>
  <em>
    <span>those </span>
  </em>
  <span>in Asgard anyway - let alone a Jotun-Midgardian half breed toddler. Inga had apologetically suggested seeing a Midgardian doctor about her, because from what she knew, it was an issue born out of her human nature as opposed to her Jotun nature. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So, they had gone to Banner, who had put them in touch with an expert who may be able to help them. A </span>
  <em>
    <span>human </span>
  </em>
  <span>pediatrician. Loki wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of interacting with a Midgardian who probably wouldn’t have anything enlightening to say anyway, but Amelia pointed out that if Loki was truly concerned for his daughter, he would give it a shot.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Num num, dada,” said Kari, pointing at the tray with grabby hands, and Loki chuckled, picking Kari up as he tried to dive across his dada’s lap to obtain the delicious little pre-lunch snack Amelia had prepared for them. He sat Kari back down and picked up the boy’s plastic bowl.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, here you go. Don’t eat too quickly,” Loki warned him gently, knowing how enthusiastic the boy could be when it came to food; he watched as Kari plucked up a thin slice of cucumber and put it in his mouth to begin munching delightfully. Loki waited until Kari had chewed and swallowed before asking him, “Kari, can you say ‘cucumber’?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Koo-bah-bah,” Kari responded confidently before picking up another piece.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Close enough,” Loki nodded and then glanced over to Aster appraisingly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster had turned her attention away from the food Amelia had brought and was now standing next to the small bookcase which housed the growing collection of children’s books they owned. She seemed to be searching for one to pick out, always keen for her dada to read to her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aster, it’s time to eat. Come over here,” he held out his hand, beckoning her over, but the girl only looked back at him briefly, sucking away on her pacifier, and then turned her attention back to the books before her. Loki tried again, a tad bit firmer, “Come over here, Aster.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster picked up one of the books, holding it to her chest with both arms as she approached, and instead of sitting down like Kari to eat her snack, she tried to make herself comfortable in Loki’s lap. Loki wasn’t having it. He picked her up out of his lap and placed her down opposite himself next to her brother, to which she gave him a </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>unhappy frown.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oh, she was in a </span>
  <em>
    <span>mood </span>
  </em>
  <span>today.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Food first, then book.” Loki told her, pushing her bowl in front of her with an expectant look, hoping the action would be enough for his daughter to understand that he wouldn’t read to her until she ate.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster sulked, staring down at the bowl as if she wanted it to disappear; in her hesitance, Kari made a move to steal her apple slices after having finished his own.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah- </span>
  <em>
    <span>no,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki reprimanded, his stern tone causing Kari to sheepishly retract his hand and quickly act as though he hadn’t done anything wrong. Loki could tell he was going to be a huge mischief maker when he was fully grown. Stealing food from a sibling - that was something he himself used to do to Thor all the time.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He looked back to Aster, who was looking up at him with her big, round eyes, probably hoping he would give in and read to her instead of forcing her to eat her tiny little snack first and foremost. It wasn’t going to work, not this time. Usually that look made him weak and inclined to let Aster have her way, but she needed to eat her snack, mama’s orders, and Loki was more afraid of Amelia’s wrath than that of his daughter.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Eat, now.” He tapped the bowl.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster lifted the book up, showing him the cover. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Very Hungry Caterpillar. </span>
  </em>
  <span>That was a little bit ironic. Loki took the book from her and placed it down on the floor beside him before pointing at the bowl yet again. “Aster,” he said her name in a terse, warning tone that left no room for argument, and the girl made the whining noise that she typically made as a precursor to crying.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki sighed, face softening, and he picked up the bowl, plucking up an apple slice and holding it out to her, “If you eat these, we can read the book, okay?” Aster sniffed, but appeared to relent at his gentler tone. She took the apple slice and pulled her pacifier out so she could eat it, which was all it took to get her in the groove of devouring the rest of her little snacks. For some unearthly reason, Aster was always averse to snack-time and meal-time until she took her first bite, then she’d eat her food without much fuss; it was like she always had something else she wanted to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>first.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She still seemed to have an issue with the cucumber though, because despite eating the apple and cheese without further reluctance, she paused when it came to the sliced vegetable. Aster pointed at the book, looking up at her father questioningly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Two slices of cucumber, Aster,” Loki said, picked them up and holding them out to her, tilting his head when Aster frowned at his hand, “come on. It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>green. </span>
  </em>
  <span>You like green, remember?” He held a slice up to her lips, and she glared at the cucumber before tentatively opening her mouth and taking a bite. Her face scrunched up slightly as she chewed and swallowed it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s really that horrible, huh?” He took pity, looking up at the door to see if Amelia was lurking outside or if she was still in the bedroom. The coast was clear, so he popped the remaining cucumber in his own mouth and ate it himself, “Mama doesn’t have to know,” he whispered, giving his daughter a wink.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He never ate his vegetables as a child either.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster was already crawling back into his lap, ready for Loki to read the story book like he had promised, and Kari was quick to join in, his building blocks sitting forgotten as both toddlers bundled onto his crossed legs. Loki chuckled, picking up the book and opening it to the first page.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“One Sunday morning, the warm sun came up and - </span>
  <em>
    <span>pop </span>
  </em>
  <span>- out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar,” Loki began, but was interrupted by Amelia before he could turn the page as she walked in, all dressed and prettied up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” she greeted, and then stopped, looking down at the empty bowls in surprise, “you actually got Aster to eat the cucumber?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki looked at her for a second.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But she </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>eats the cucumber?” Amelia sounded stumped.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m just that good,” Loki smiled smugly and turned his attention back to the book, trying to pretend he wasn’t wholly amused by the impressed look that passed over his wife’s face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki watched Kari stumble around the waiting room of the specialist’s office, babbling to himself loudly and causing a general fuss in the otherwise silent atmosphere; the boy seemed a little skittish and excitable, unlike his sister who was, of course, completely quiet and sitting still in her father’s lap. Kari didn’t want to seem to calm down no matter how many times Amelia repeatedly shushed him, whereas Aster appeared to be oddly apprehensive, as if she knew they were there because the pediatrician wanted to see her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The girl leaned her head against Loki’s chest, sucking tentatively on her pacifier, her brow furrowed like she was anxious; he let his fingers drift through her thin hair in an effort to soothe her apparent discomfort. Perhaps she was put off by the new environment and the fact that they had been sitting there waiting for the past thirty minutes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Their appointment was supposed to be twenty minutes ago, but the pediatrician was running late with his appointments, much to Loki’s dismay. He could be patient for his children, but having to wait for </span>
  <em>
    <span>Midgardians</span>
  </em>
  <span> was just such a chore for him - it was stupid, their appointment was set for 12:30 that afternoon, so that’s when it should have been. It was coming up to one o’clock now and Loki found his mood dropping with every passing minute; being in close proximity with humans who weren’t his wife or the Avengers was just so tiresome. He was lucky that none of the humans in the waiting room were even glancing his way - his glasses and ponytail disguise combo hadn’t let him down yet, but he didn’t want to push his luck.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The pediatrician wasn’t aware that he was going to be appraising the child of Loki, of Asgard, and Loki damn well hoped he wasn’t an Avengers fan. When outside the tower with his family, it was of the utmost import that he remained anonymous to those around him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia’s voice cut through his train of though, “I think one of us should stay out here with Kari when Aster’s called in,” she murmured, a slight weariness to her voice, “something tells me he isn’t going to sit still and be quiet for more than a few minutes, if at all. I don’t want to disturb the doctor…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki nodded his head, “Yes, I agree. He’s rather out of control… so did you want to go in or shall I?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s probably best that I go in,” Amelia said with a slight smile, “I mean, what if he asks you a question and you don’t know the answer?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki frowned, “Why would I not know the answer?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean-” she lowered her voice a tad, “what if he starts talking about something Midgardian-related and you have no clue what he’s on about. You’ll seem weird if you have to ask him to explain something that’s, like, really basic knowledge for me but not for you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki sighed, “Right, okay. Fine, you go in with Aster. I’ll stay out here and try to wrangle Kari into a seat.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After another five minutes, the door to the doctor’s office opened up and a woman walked out with her young child, followed by who Loki presumed was the doctor they were here to see.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Midgardian doctor looked to be in his mid-thirties, had tan skin and very short, dark hair along with a beard that was neatly kept; he wore a pure white coat and had some strange device hanging around his neck.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aster Avery?” the doctor called, glancing around the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Finally, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki thought as Amelia stood up and moved to take Aster from his arms. Aster, however, did not want to leave her father’s lap, because she gripped the lapel of his coat and gave an anxious whimper as Amelia tried to get her to release her tight clutch on him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aster, come on sweetheart,” Amelia tried gently, “we won’t be too long.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In an instant, Aster revealed her displeasure at her mother’s insistence by breaking out into a loud, sharp cry. Loki glanced over to the doctor, who stood with complete forbearance while Aster kicked up a loud fuss and bawled her eyes out, till eventually Loki stood, taking his daughter back from his wife’s arms, “It’s okay, I’ll take her in.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster wasn’t going to accept being taken away from him, not while she was so visibly distressed, which left only option - he was going to have to talk to the Midgardian doctor in Amelia’s stead.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia looked uncertain, “Are you sure?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s fine,” Loki nodded, and Aster quietened down almost as soon as she was fully handed back to him. Amelia gave him an encouraging half-smile as she sat back down and Loki crossed the room and entered the doctor’s office.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As the pediatrician closed the door, Loki realised with a start that Amelia had been right, he was kind of out of his depth - he could only hope that the doctor would speak plainly and ask relatively straight-forward questions.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry for the wait, Mr. Avery. Please take a seat,” he indicated the empty chair opposite his desk, “I’m Doctor Hayes, I understand you have some concerns about your daughter. What exactly can I help you with?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki quickly wiped his face clean of the initial confusion he felt when the doctor called him </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mr. Avery, </span>
  </em>
  <span>realising that Amelia must have given them an alias in place of his real name, because </span>
  <em>
    <span>obviously </span>
  </em>
  <span>he couldn’t list his name as Loki Odinson if he wanted to be incognito.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He cleared his throat, “Uh, I think my wife explained when she called…” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Did he really have to relay all the information Amelia had already given them?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Doctor Hayes smiled, “Yes, of course, I have a vague idea, but I’d like to hear the unabridged concerns you have.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki frowned, but humoured the man, “Well,” he began, slightly awkwardly - </span>
  <em>
    <span>Amelia really would’ve been better off in here </span>
  </em>
  <span>- “...my daughter doesn’t speak.” There wasn’t really a more detailed version of what Amelia had told them over the phone. Aster didn’t speak. That was literally it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She doesn’t speak? Okay,” Hayes glanced down at his notes and then looked back up, “it isn’t unusual for children of seventeen months to have yet to say their first words. It is on the later end of the period in which children typically begin to speak, but not necessarily a cause for concern. Can you tell me why this worries you?” He spoke kindly, but Loki found himself feeling irked as if the doctor was maybe reprimanding him for wasting his time.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not just that she doesn’t speak, she barely makes a sound,” Loki glanced down at the toddler in question, who seemed to be overly interested in staring at her wiggling fingers, “her twin brother already knows quite a few words, I don’t see any reason why she would be so far behind him when we’ve been encouraging their progress at the same pace.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The doctor nodded, seemingly understanding where Loki’s worries had arisen from.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you have any reason to believe there may be anything wrong with your daughter’s hearing?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Loki answered, “she… she knows when we’re talking to her. When we say her name, she looks at us. She can hear just fine, I’m sure.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, I would like to know - does your daughter have any unusual or repetitive behaviours, trouble making eye contact with you, or a tendency to get angry or upset very easily?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki didn’t quite know what constituted unusual behaviours, but nothing particularly stood out; repetitive, however, was something that he could attribute to Aster’s almost obsessive sucking on her pacifier.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s rather attached to her pacifier… she gets upset when we try to take it from her, I’m not sure if that counts. She doesn’t have an issue with holding eye contact.” Several times, Loki had practically had staring matches with the girl - she liked to stare at him a lot.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I see, I see,” said Hayes, glancing down at his notes again, “and does your daughter respond well in non-verbal ways when you interact with her?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Such as?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, does she wave to people, nod or shake her head as a response, point to things that she wants…?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She does all of those things.” Now that the doctor had specified, Loki supposed that Aster did make an effort to communicate non-verbally. While Aster’s lack of speech made it difficult to understand her exact needs sometimes, Loki didn’t really find it impossible to figure out what the girl wanted to convey most of the time.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good, that’s good,” Doctor Hayes assured, picking up a pen to scribble something down in his notes. He turned his attention to the girl who had yet to even acknowledge the doctor’s presence, Aster was still very much looking anywhere but the direction of Hayes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How are you, Aster?” the doctor inquired, leaning forward on his knees slightly so that he was talking more at the girl’s eye-level. Loki looked funnily at the doctor - did he really think she was going to answer his question? Did the doctor think he could get Aster to talk when both Loki and Amelia had been trying for months upon months?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>At the mention of her name, Aster looked up at the doctor with wide eyes, her pacifier going still in her mouth as she stared at him for a moment and then turned away, shoving her face into Loki’s shoulder as if to hide. Loki automatically rubbed her back soothingly in reassurance.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hayes didn’t seem put off by Aster’s unwillingness to face him, in fact, he looked almost like he expected it, and a small smile formed on his face, “It’s okay, I know I have a scary face. But I don’t bite, I promise.” Loki gave the man a cynical look, he didn’t look scary at all, what was he talking about?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know- I’ve got something for you, Aster. It’s something very special, only the bravest kids get one of these,” he turned slightly, opening up a drawer. He pulled out what looked like a piece of paper with rows of stars across the page in many different colours, all of them glittering in the light of the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster turned her head ever so slightly, looking at what the doctor had uncovered; she observed the page of stars with abundant curiosity, but still remained reluctant to pull away from her father to get a good look.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a sticker, see?” the doctor peeled one of the stars away from the page and placed it on the lapel of his whiter than white coat. “If you wear one of these, it means you’re fearless. Plus, it looks pretty!” The man grinned, holding up his lapel like he was proud to show it off, talking in an excitable way that appealed to the girl.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster seemed interested enough to sit up straighter and lean over to look at the rows of star stickers laid out before her. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Would you like to have one?” Hayes asked gently, and Loki watched silently as Aster nodded her head, reaching out with grabby hands towards the sheet. The doctor smiled brightly, “which colour would you like, Aster?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster pointed towards the sparkly green stars and Loki felt a small swell of pride, smiling at his daughter.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ohh, good choice!” said the doctor animatedly as he peeled the green star from the sheet, “Green is a very cool colour, oh- and it matches your eyes!” He placed the sparkling star on Aster’s top and she gazed down at it in delight, running her finger over the slightly rough texture of the glitter in wonderment. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Then she looked up at Loki, her mouth stretched into a grin around her pacifier as she pointed at the sticker on her chest, and Loki mirrored her glee, admiring how bright and happy his daughter looked all of a sudden, as opposed to the nervous state she had been in just a short while ago.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s beautiful, Aster,” he praised, stroking her head adoringly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki understood now why the doctor had pulled out the stickers in the first place; the man was obviously good with children if he worked as a pediatrician, and he probably was used to children being withdrawn and nervous, so this was a great way to urge them out of their shells a bit.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And it worked. Hayes proceeded to pull out a small poster which showed cartoonish pictures of a bunch of different animals; he asked Aster to point at her favourite animal and she indicated the image of a bird, and then when he asked her to point to several different animals that he named, she was able to do so. Loki believed she could identify the animals well thanks to one of the children’s books they had back at the tower that told a story about the lives of farm animals.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The doctor seemed impressed that she was able to point to every animal correctly as he named them, and seemed to come to some sort of prognosis about Aster’s lack of speech.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There are a few different causes for delayed speech and language development in children. At the moment, I think it’s unlikely to be Autism from what you’ve told me, she doesn’t appear to have most of the indicators that come with it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki didn’t bother to ask what Autism was as the doctor seemed to think he should know what it was already, given the way he was talking about it. He’d ask Amelia later.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It generally isn’t diagnosed before twenty-four months anyway.” He went on to say, “Shyness could also be a potential cause. It’s clear she’s put off by strangers, which isn’t at all unusual for children, but it can sometimes be debilitating enough that it dissuades a child from speaking aloud… however that doesn’t usually happen with close family.” He licked his lips in idle thought, tilting his head to look at Aster with consideration.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Selective mutism is a possibility, though just like shyness, it generally doesn’t stop a person from talking to their close family. Most cases of selective mutism have a child who cannot speak in certain social situations with people they don’t know very well, so… perhaps not.” Loki didn’t like how uncertain the doctor seemed. He’d hoped the Midgardian pediatrician would have clear answers for him, but the variability of the man’s words was not promising.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Perhaps this is a case of Einstein Syndrome,” Doctor Hayes spoke, looking at Loki as if he should have any hint of recognition as to what that may have been. At the blank look the doctor received, he continued, “well, Albert Einstein didn’t start talking until he was five years old!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki continued to stare at the man with a clear lack of understanding. Who was Albert Einstein?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Doctor Hayes seemed momentarily confused by Loki’s perplexed look, so he clarified, “Albert Einstein was a certified genius, you see. Very smart man, one of the smartest for sure! He had a speech delay problem, all the way up until he turned five, but he was gifted in many other areas. Your daughter strikes me as a very bright girl. Her cognizance seems to be far more progressed than many other children her age, she knew each and every animal on that poster. Quite a feat at seventeen months. I don’t believe there’s anything </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong </span>
  </em>
  <span>with your daughter, Mr. Avery, I think she may just need </span>
  <em>
    <span>time.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki breathed a sigh, glancing down at Aster. He was disappointed that the doctor did not have a definitive solution to their problem, but at the same time he felt a sort of contentment at having his daughter’s intellect praised so much. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Have you thought about alternative ways of communication?” the doctor asked, and Loki gave him a questioning look. “I think it would be beneficial for you and your wife to learn some sign language, your daughter may feel more comfortable communicating non-verbally as opposed to out loud with her voice.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Sign language? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki didn’t know a lot about sign language, but if it was a way to help communicate with his daughter more clearly, he was open to it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can… look into it,” Loki confirmed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can print off some pages for you with helpful information,” the doctor told him, turning to do just that, “and I would very much like to see Aster again around twenty-four months so that I can monitor her progress. Perhaps by then we will be able to understand her point of view a lot easier, and I can give you some more conclusive answers.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” Loki nodded, “okay.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He lifted Aster up as he stood, taking the sheets of paper that the doctor offered to him. Hayes opened the door for him and Loki walked out, politely thanking the man for his consideration, taking a moment to watch how the doctor waved at Aster, and she returned the gesture tentatively.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia had managed to get Kari into a seat, the boy was now sitting relatively quietly as he drank apple juice from his sippy cup, and it seemed as though it may have taken some insistence, because Amelia looked somewhat enervated, slumped in her seat. She’d brightened when Loki exited the doctor’s office with Aster in his arms, and immediately stood up, her face awash with curiosity at what the doctor had said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well? What does he think?” Amelia asked, and her eyes went to the glittery green star on Aster’s chest, pulling a smile onto her face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll explain everything on the way back,” Loki told her. It would be easier to relay everything he had been told in the limo back to Avengers Tower, he didn’t want to talk while there were a handful of Midgardians about.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia agreed, and they grabbed their things and made their way out of the building and around the corner to the awaiting limo with Stark’s driver. As they were walking, Loki watched his daughter carefully as she admired her green star sticker. The doctor had likened her to some Midgardian genius named Albert Einstein - he smirked pridefully, it was no surprise that his daughter may grow up to have superior intellect, she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>his </span>
  </em>
  <span>daughter after all; and her knowledge would no doubt be finer than that of any Midgardian, regardless of when she decided to start talking.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” Loki murmured quietly, and Aster looked up at him, eyes wide as usual, “I love you.” He said the words warmly with a smile, and Aster’s eyes appeared to shine in response. She circled her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, and Loki knew that was her non-verbal way of saying </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘I love you, too.’</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>"ASTER STILL ISN'T TALKING???" I hear you cry. Yep, she isn't talking yet. I have plans for her, don't you worry~ There will be pay-off eventually ;)</p>
<p>As a child, I absolutely had selective mutism. My first two years in primary school, I did not speak to anybody, not the teacher, not the class. I said maybe just a few words to ONE girl in my class who I considered my only friend, but even then she wasn't exactly my friend cause my lack of communication skills meant I had no way to make real friends. It was legit awful. I didn't say 'here' when the teacher called my name for the register every morning, it was like I was physically unable to, I just couldn't handle having any sort of attention on me for even a moment. That's anxiety for yah. While I still suffer from anxiety, I don't suffer from selective mutism anymore, I've grown out of it and even if my social skills are scratchy, I can make friends x'D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0030"><h2>30. Even Salt Looks Like Sugar</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A family picnic trip goes awry in one of the worst ways.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Oh my goodness. I'm so so sorry for the time it has taken for me to post this next chapter. I've had some serious trouble focusing with my writing since the last time I posted, which is why it has taken so long. Some days I would sit and try my absolute hardest to write a good chunk but I'd only crank out a couple sentences, if that :( I've also been busy and distracted, but I have finally managed to finish this chapter. I'm so sorry everyone, I hate to make you all wait!</p>
<p>This chapter is extra long, I hope that will make up for it? </p>
<p>I hope you all enjoy, lovelies &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was a beautiful day for a picnic. The sun was bright, the air was warm, the lake just outside the boundaries of the Kingdom of Asgard was stunning, and Amelia was glad she had suggested it, because she felt perfectly relaxed as she basked in the sunshine, sitting upon the checkered blanket she had brought along.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The wicker basket at her side was full of snacks and sandwiches prepared by the palace’s kitchen staff at her request, the children had been well-behaved all day, Loki was in a cuddly mood, everything was going wonderfully and Amelia felt beyond content. Snuggled up to her husband’s side, Amelia watched little Kari and Aster chase each other around on the grassy bank, and she couldn’t help but think about just how blessed she was to have such a beautiful family.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Movement in the corner of Amelia’s eye drew her attention. One of Loki’s arms was slung around her, holding her close against him, while the other was deftly swapping between different signs - he was signing out the letters of the alphabet by way of memorising them so that he could then go on to teach it to Aster. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It warmed Amelia’s heart that Loki was taking the doctor’s advice so seriously. He had immediately purchased several books on sign language and was learning the letters, words and phrases at a considerable rate. Amelia had never been good at learning secondary languages, but she was eager to give sign language a try, desperate to work out how to communicate more easily with her daughter. Amelia herself had only learned the first few letters of the alphabet in sign while Loki had zoomed through the entire thing with ease.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s brain clearly worked differently than her own - he absorbed things through sheer motivation, but Amelia needed to go through something a few dozen times before it cemented in her mind. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She carefully observed her husband’s hand, focusing on the signs she knew to see if she could figure out what he was spelling out.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>A _ E _ I A</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She was playing a mental game of hang-man in her head, but she couldn’t quite figure out the second and fourth digit - she had learnt all the vowels but only the first seven consonants in the alphabet. She stared, seeing if she could figure it out through common sense.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She blanked again on the second letter, but this time she took note of the fourth digit - her husband made a ‘loser’ sign and Amelia tilted her head, could that be as simple as representing the letter L?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>A _ E L I A</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Oh. He was spelling </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>name. The realisation sent a wave of warmth through her; it was cute, because he wasn’t specifically signing to her, he was just practising by spelling her name.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki must have felt her gaze on him, because he turned his head and caught the sight of her dreamy look; the corners of his mouth tilted up into a subtle smirk and he raised his hand, showing her another hand gesture - it looked sort of like a devil’s horns gesture, but his thumb was extended instead of tucked in. Amelia blinked, tilting her head curiously. She had no clue.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What does that mean?” She asked, eyebrows raised almost suspiciously. Her first instinct was that it meant something rude, something mischievous, because there was this little glint in her husband’s eyes that seemed almost playful and he always got that glint when he was doing something sneaky.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki seemed amused by her suspicion of him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It means </span>
  <em>
    <span>I love you,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>he answered sincerely, and Amelia felt her face heat up immediately in a fluster, because that was just </span>
  <em>
    <span>way too sweet. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki was such a cutesy romantic, even though he would never admit it in a hundred years, but he reminded Amelia of that fact every single day in brand new ways.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Come here, you,” Amelia squeaked, grabbing a handful of his shirt to pull him down into a kiss. Loki hummed pleasantly against her lips, a deep rumble in the back of his throat that made Amelia shiver despite the warmth of the sun on her face. Even when Loki pulled back, his lips didn’t stray far. He kissed her cheek and then her forehead, and then drew her close with a gentle hand tickling the back of her neck, she leaned her cheek against his shoulder and sighed happily at the embrace.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The quiet spot was the perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of the palace.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Until Loki broke the silence with a sharp exclamation, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It made Amelia jump, and she pulled back quickly, looking up at him with wide eyes, then followed his gaze over towards where the children were playing just ahead of them. They were looking back with mutually wide gazes, almost scared still at the sudden shout from their father.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki cleared his throat, looking a little sheepish at having raised his voice, and proceeded a little more quietly, but with a consistent stern edge to his tone, “Stay </span>
  <em>
    <span>away </span>
  </em>
  <span>from the water.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia understood then why Loki had raised his voice in alarm, he’d been worried for the wellbeing of the children and in the split-second panic at the thought of them falling into the lake, he’d brashly told them off. She gave him a look that was slightly scolding - there’d been no need for him to shout, after all - but he brushed it off by ignoring it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia observed the children. They seemed interested in </span>
  <em>
    <span>looking </span>
  </em>
  <span>at the water, but dared not take a single step closer to it after hearing their daddy’s warning tone. They weren’t even that close to the edge of the bank, in her opinion, but she supposed she knew how easily a small child could trip and fall in. There was still a danger, even if the water was shallow and even if Loki was fast enough to pull them out within two seconds of it happening, if it were to happen at all.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki had a sharp eye on them at all times, even when he seemed to be giving Amelia his full attention, the children would always take up a percentage of his awareness, which Amelia knew was a good thing. The twins were forever protected. Nothing bad would ever happen to them, not if Loki could help it. Amelia couldn’t ask for a better father for her children.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We should give them swimming lessons,” Amelia stated idly, watching Kari and Aster pull up great handfuls of grass and throw it up in the air, seemingly entertained by the way it fluttered back down to the ground.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hm?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, in the palace pool. It would be good for them to know how to swim.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki nodded slowly, like he was thinking about it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a useful skill to have,” Amelia added.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know,” Loki answered, glancing down at her, “I was just thinking… I don’t know how to </span>
  <em>
    <span>teach</span>
  </em>
  <span> someone to swim. Especially a child. It’s not something you can just give instructions for and expect that to be enough,” he looked vaguely discomfited, “and the thought of throwing them in and expecting them to learn from experience is… not ideal for me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia laughed, “That’s not how you teach swimming lessons. You don’t just throw them in. Please tell me that’s not how </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>learnt to swim.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki eyed her for a moment, and Amelia realised that somebody in the palace must have deemed ‘throw them in and hope for the best’ a valid way to give swimming lessons when Loki was growing up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, geez,” Amelia mumbled apologetically, “well, we’ll do it the right way. We can buy the kids inflatable rings, ease them into it… always keep a hand on them, you know?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki seemed persuaded, “Alright.” He looked thoughtful for a moment and then quietly spoke, “The first </span>
  <em>
    <span>lesson </span>
  </em>
  <span>I had, I was quite literally thrown into the pool, and my </span>
  <em>
    <span>teacher </span>
  </em>
  <span>just told me to kick my legs and stay above the surface,” he rolled his eyes as he recalled the memory distastefully, “I panicked, begged him to pull me out. He waited until my head was </span>
  <em>
    <span>below</span>
  </em>
  <span> the water to grab my arm and lift me up. I was six.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia looked horrified. She knew her husband had had a tough childhood, but that was a whole new piece of information she could never have predicted; Loki’s reaction to the children stepping within even twenty feet of the lake suddenly made a lot more sense.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What an </span>
  <em>
    <span>asshole,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia hissed, and then quickly slapped a hand over her mouth, looking nervously towards the children. They hadn’t heard her, thankfully. Ever since Kari had started repeating the words they spoke to him, she’d had to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>careful about the language she used around them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki chuckled and then gave a clipped response, “It’s alright. He was killed in Hela’s invasion, right before Asgard was destroyed. Can’t say I miss him.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia looked at Loki in consideration for just a moment, recognising his attempt to dismiss the subject with his insouciant words, and didn’t probe for anything more on the matter. It wasn’t often Loki freely gave her that kind of insight about his struggles growing up, and she knew it could only be a display of how much he trusted her. He may have delivered the words with nonchalance, but she knew as well as anybody what a traumatic memory looked like, and she knew how deeply something like that could affect a person.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Acceding her husband’s wishes, Amelia dropped the subject entirely and turned her head to the children, “Anybody hungry?” she called out with a sort of sing-song tone, hoping to lure the toddlers in with promises of treats.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari came immediately at the mention of food, naturally. Aster followed, not with the same eagerness to consume lunch, but with the desire to pursue her brother; the little girl had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>about playtime with Kari as of late - she wanted to spend more time with him, it seemed, which warmed Amelia’s heart. Seeing their sibling bond growing before her eyes, Amelia was reminded of her own brother and the times they had shared growing up. He had been such a sweet, loving big brother. She missed him dearly. She saw herself and Aaron in her children. Kari, the ever-smiling older brother, and Aster, the quiet little sister who trailed after her sibling.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia got to work on setting up the children’s food while Loki took the pack of wet wipes she handed him and cleaned the twins hands free of any dirt they may have clung to them. They each had juice in a sippy cup, strawberry jam sandwiches minus the crusts, one satsuma each, some savoury crackers and a small iced cake each as a treat for being good.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster tried reaching for the cake first - she had quite the sweet tooth - but Amelia gently dissuaded her, pushing the other things forward first, “You can have your cake after you eat the rest of your lunch.” Amelia knew full well that if Aster consumed the cake first, she would turn her nose up at everything else. She was far too picky for her own good.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The little girl seemed to understand what her mother was telling her, because she adopted a very pouty look and then begrudgingly took the crackers and nibbled on them while side-eyeing the cake with much interest.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari did not have Aster’s problem. He picked up his sandwich and ate it enthusiastically, only slowing when Loki reprimanded him for eating too quickly; the boy seemed to always be hungry, anybody would probably think they starved him if they witnessed his display.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>At one point, Aster picked up a few wedges of her peeled satsuma and offered them to Kari, who brightened and took them, offering his sister a cracker in return, which she accepted; Amelia couldn’t help but whisper a quiet ‘aww’ at their show of sharing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Looking adoringly between her children, Amelia stiffened when she noticed a small black thing creeping across Kari’s leg. A spider, oh no. Amelia hated spiders, and she happened to know Kari hated them too, which meant there was only a few moments before the boy would notice it and start screaming for help.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Unfortunately, while Amelia was rushing to think of a way to ask Loki to remove the spider before Kari could notice it, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Kari noticed it.</span>
  </em>
  <span> The boy froze, and then began to panic, his eyes growing wide as he locked his sights on the little creepy-crawly moving up over his knee, and Amelia winced as he let out a loud scream.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No! No, no!” Kari yelled, using his limited vocabulary to communicate the fact that he was utterly terrified.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki looked down at his son in confusion, not immediately seeing the subject of his fear, “What’s wrong? What’s the matter?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s a spider,” Amelia pointed to it, “Loki, could you-” Before she could ask her husband to save their son from the tiny, threatening arachnid, Aster swooped in and grabbed the spider none too gently before throwing it away into the bushes with all her might - Amelia wasn’t entirely sure the arachnid would be walking away uninjured.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“O-oh,” Amelia murmured, watching as Aster went back to eating her satsuma, completely unbothered.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari, however, looked as though he had been saved from certain death. He rubbed at his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt, sniffing quietly, and double-checked that his leg was completely free of insects or arachnids before he allowed himself to calm down. The boy shifted and wrapped his arms around his sister in a grateful hug, saying what sounded suspiciously like, “Thank Asdah,” instead of ‘thanks Aster’. Another adorable display that warmed Amelia’s heart.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s a good girl,” Loki praised his daughter, and then looked at Amelia with vague amusement, “he gets that from you, you know. Your ridiculous phobia of spiders. If he didn’t see you screeching and jumping away from those tiny creatures, he wouldn’t bat an eyelid at them.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia pouted, because it sort of sounded like her husband was scolding her, “Well excuse me,” she whispered, “but they’re bloody terrifying.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki rolled his eyes and then chuckled, “Ironic that your nickname for him is ‘bug’.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Shush,” Amelia grumbled, shutting down her husband’s light teasing. The children finished eating their lunch, well, apart from Aster, because apparently she didn’t enjoy the jam sandwiches enough to eat more than one small bite, but Amelia let it go instead of encouraging her to eat the rest. There wasn’t much use in forcing Aster to eat something she didn’t want to, Amelia just had to work on finding nutritional foods that the fussy girl </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>like.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia resumed cuddling up to Loki’s side as the children left the picnic blanket and continued their little game that involved playing in the dirt and pulling up weeds and blades of grass. They would both be needing a bath when they got back to the palace - Amelia could already spy a smudge of mud on Kari’s cheek, and their clothes were in a far worser state.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She could see Loki’s face in the very corner of her eye as he tried to refrain from asking them to stop playing in the dirt; it turned out he was very averse to the idea of the people of Asgard seeing his children caked in grime and looking very un-royal.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They look like peasants,” Loki murmured under his breath, frowning at his kids and their desire to roll around in soil, “they’re supposed to look majestic and </span>
  <em>
    <span>clean.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia snickered to herself, “They’re eighteen months old. Let ‘em get dirty once in a while, love. Staying clean and </span>
  <em>
    <span>prim and proper-” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she mocked his accent as she spoke those words, “-can get kinda boring.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki gave her a weary look, obviously unimpressed by her attempt at copying his accent, which only served to make her giggle all the more, “You’re awful at that, you know?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know,” Amelia smirked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki shook his head, “You’re absurd sometimes.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I should hope so, that’s why you married me.” Amelia flashed her husband a coy, knowing look, to which he gazed back into her eyes with a look of contentment and absolute love. He tilted his head down and stole a quick kiss.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I suppose you’re right,” he responded when he pulled away.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia grinned and glanced down at her hand, working it into the sign gesture he had shown her earlier, </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘I love you’, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and Loki smiled fondly, eyes alight with adoration.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It would have been an utterly perfect little picnic outing if, at that moment, Kari hadn’t made a whining noise of distress and drawn both Amelia’s and Loki’s attention just in time to see him vomit up his lunch and promptly stumble over off his feet. Amelia stood quickly, watching Aster look at her brother with wide eyes before looking helplessly over at them like she didn’t know what to make of the situation.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, bug,” Amelia spoke sympathetically, making her way towards the boy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Perhaps we should have made them sit and let their food go down,” Loki said with a frown, feeling somewhat accountable for just allowing his children to run around like little monkeys so soon after eating. He watched Amelia kneel down and help the boy stand while he pulled all their bits and pieces together, shoving them back into the wicker basket under the assumption that they should probably head back to the palace and get the boy cleaned up, but he paused when Amelia called his name, a trace of alarm fluttering through the wavering tone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki looked up. Amelia had the back of her hand placed against Kari’s forehead, the boy was struggling to stand up straight and was heavily relying on Amelia holding him upright. Something was wrong.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki stood quickly and rushed to his wife’s side to examine his son’s suddenly deteriorated condition.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s not very well, Loki-” Amelia was saying, her eyes full of concern and apprehension.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari’s skin was pale and clammy, his eyes were glazed over, he was whimpering softly like he didn’t have the energy to cry loudly and his breathing was uneven. For a moment, Loki didn’t know what to do, because his mind was reeling over the fact that his son had been perfectly fine just half an hour ago, and now he was barely </span>
  <em>
    <span>standing, </span>
  </em>
  <span>clearly afflicted with some sort of sickness.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I-I think we should take him back-” Amelia was cut off when little Kari slumped forward completely, and Loki reacted like a bullet from a gun, scooping him up into his arms and checking that the boy’s breathing was okay.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was almost raspy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari was getting worse with every passing minute, and Loki realised then that he couldn’t afford to take his time getting his son back to the palace. He needed to be faster.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki rose up in a flash, cradling his ill son close to his chest, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m taking my horse,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> the words came out in a panicked rush, “the guard will escort you back, meet me in the infirmary.” He was already running back down the path that led to the area where they had left their horses. The ride </span>
  <em>
    <span>to </span>
  </em>
  <span>the lake had been calm and slow; Amelia still wasn’t confident on her horse and so a palace guard had guided her horse’s reins as he walked alongside them; Loki couldn’t afford to waste the same amount of time getting Kari back.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“My son’s sick, I’m taking him back,” Loki spoke to the guard who was standing waiting by their horses and pointed a finger in Amelia’s direction, “go to my wife - escort her and my daughter back </span>
  <em>
    <span>safely.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki hated to leave Amelia and Aster in the care of anybody other than himself, but this was truly an emergency. The guard did immediately as he was told, jogging down the path to find Amelia.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With quick, deft hands, Loki quickly tied the carrier sling around himself and made sure Kari was secure within it before hopping up onto his horse and urging her into a gallop almost instantly, “Ride fast, Velvet,” he commanded strongly with one hand on the reins, the other palm held against Kari’s chest to try and stabilise him through the fast pace.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari was still awake, Loki could tell from the weak noises of discomfort escaping him every few moments, and even as the wind rushed past him from the brisk speed of the horse, Loki heard as his son cried out one heart-wrenching word, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Hurts!” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki hated that his son was in pain, “Shh, I know, I know. I’m taking you to Inga, she’ll know what to do.” He hoped more than anything that he was right. “You’re going to be fine.” He was saying it to assure himself more so than his son.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With his lightning fast horse, he reached the palace in less than twenty minutes after a few near-miss collisions with Asgardian civilians; they all looked at him with disapproval, as if they thought he was racing fast for the hell of it like he and his brother used to do when they were younger, but if they knew the real reason, they would have stepped aside in a heartbeat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dismounting from his horse in the courtyard, Loki barked an order to a stable hand to take care of his horse and took off in a sprint, holding Kari close to his chest so that he wasn’t being jogged too hard. The boy’s skin was damp with perspiration and the colour was far from healthy, he looked almost ashen as he lie trembling in Loki’s arms, his face scrunched with affliction.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Almost there, we’re almost there,” Loki told his son as he zipped through the palace hallways straight to the infirmary where he knew Inga would be at this time.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He made it there in a matter of minutes, bursting through the double doors into the wide room; Inga was in the middle of tending to another patient, but as she looked up in moderate shock at the intrusion and spotted Loki - panic-stricken and calling her name - her eyes fell to Kari and she stood immediately, firmly requesting one of her assistants take over what she was doing so that she could inspect the young prince.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s fears were not alleviated when Inga took one look at Kari’s state and immediately demand that he be brought over to the Soul Forge; the Asgardian healer looked pressed, moving quickly and without hesitance, so Loki followed and did as he was told, placing his sick child onto the illuminated surface.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari’s eyes widened when he was placed down, a flicker of fear and reluctance showed on his face at the thought of his father taking a step back, and he voiced his worry, “No, nooo,” the boy whimpered, reaching out towards Loki. With a heavy heart, Loki pushed his son’s arms down to his sides.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s alright, I’m right here. Lie still. Inga’s going to figure out why you’re unwell.” He was gentle but firm, remaining resolute even as Kari’s eyes filled with tears and the little one took a shuddering breath.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Inga got to work, initiating the Soul Forge which came to life with a notable wave of orange light; it projected Kari’s form at eye-level and highlighted the discrepancies in his physiology, the Asgardian healer’s gaze examined the evidence of Kari’s condition with fast, scrutinising eyes, while Loki watched with bated breath, hoping the woman would soften and proclaim that the boy did not have a serious ailment.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Instead, she grew all the more urgent.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Dilated pupils, tachycardia, slight respiratory distress,” she spoke to herself and then rushed across the room to her workstation where she usually created various potions and concoctions to aid her patients in their recoveries from various illnesses. She practically threw the cupboards open and began picking out specific ingredients in a hurry. “When did his symptoms start?” She called suddenly across the room to Loki, who shook his head slightly as he tried to focus on answering her question instead of worrying for his child.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah- about… twenty-five minutes ago.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Inga glanced back over her shoulder, a flicker of uncertainty passing over her face, “They came on suddenly? You are sure he had no symptoms this morning to indicate illness?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki shook his head, “He was </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine </span>
  </em>
  <span>this morning.” The boy had been more than fine, he had spent the morning stumbling around happily, singing and dancing and playing like the healthiest of toddlers.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Where were you when this began?” Inga inquired as she threw different ingredients into a bowl and heated it to a boil.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki stepped closer to the Soul Forge when his son began to cry, large tears dripping down the sides of his face, and he carded his fingers through the boy’s untamed curls to comfort him, “We were at the lake. Down by the bank, not far from the pier, in a clearing,” he detailed, “the kids were eating lunch, they got up to play and Kari was sick - I assumed his stomach hadn’t yet settled, but this… this is bad.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Inga frowned, pausing momentarily, “Is that the clearing with the yew trees?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki looked at her cluelessly and shook his head, “I- I don’t know. What do yew trees look like?” The foliage and greenery of Asgard was vastly different than it was on Earth, and while Loki had been relatively knowledgeable in his botany studies when he was younger, he knew practically nothing about Midgardian shrubbery except for the names of various flowers, thanks to his wife.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Inga ignored his question and asked another of her own, “Loki, did your son eat anything he shouldn’t have? Like berries, or- or </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything </span>
  </em>
  <span>that may have fallen off the trees?” There was an underlying hint of gravity to her tone that Loki did not find soothing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He looked to his son, eyeing the boy pointedly. Did Inga think the boy had some sort of food poisoning? Loki wanted to say that no, he knew for a fact his boy hadn’t eaten anything off the ground, but he recalled that he hadn’t had his eyes on the children one-hundred percent of the time, and knowing Kari, it was entirely possible he </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>picked up something and decided to eat it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki cursed his son’s fixation with food.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It is... not implausible,” Loki answered, almost ashamedly. He was ashamed that he had never taught his son the importance of not eating everything he saw, and he was ashamed that he hadn’t been more mindful of the children.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Inga breathed a troubled sigh, “Take him to a vacant bed,” she instructed as she paused in her potion-making to pick a vial off the shelf. Loki followed the order, picking up his weeping son and transporting him to the closest available bed; Inga approached with the small vial and a bucket.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She puffed up the pillows and sat Kari up, “Hold him upright,” she said, and Loki placed a steadying hand on Kari’s back, feeling the tremble of every breath the boy took. Inga uncorked the vial and held it to Kari’s lips, “You have to drink this,” she told him with no room for argument, tilting the boy’s head back gently with one hand so that he would have no choice but to obey.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Inga’s pushiness was evident of her alarm, Loki merely rubbed his hand carefully over Kari’s back as he swallowed a gulp of the potion and scrunched his face up in dismay. The taste had clearly been undesirable. Loki frowned as Inga held the bucket up for him to take, “What’s this for?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s going to vomit again soon,” Inga explained, “courtesy of the contents of the mixture he just drank.” At Loki’s answering glower, Inga continued, “The concoction will absorb the contents of his stomach so that he cannot digest anymore </span>
  <em>
    <span>poison, </span>
  </em>
  <span>then I can give him the medicine that will hopefully reverse the effects of whatever it is he has eaten.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hopefully?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki parroted, not liking the dubious choice in words, “What exactly do you believe he has eaten?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Inga returned to her workstation to continue brewing what Loki assumed was the medicine Kari needed, “My best guess is yew berries. They’re brightly coloured and </span>
  <em>
    <span>look </span>
  </em>
  <span>edible, which is enough for a child of Kari’s age to deem as perfectly fine to eat.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And the side effects include?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, muscle spasms, heart palpitations, drowsiness, unconsciousness and…” she trailed off.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“And?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki did not like where this was going.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“...and death, if a lethal dosage is ingested,” Inga finished carefully, focusing on her brewing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki felt his throat grow tight at the healer’s words. He looked to his son, who was leaning over the bucket looking very much like he was about to throw up whatever was left in his stomach - his eyes were glazed with pain and his face was pale. It was so far from the norm to see his boy looking anything but happy and healthy, and the knowledge that the child’s life was in danger shook Loki to his very core.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And…” Loki began, and had to swallow as his mouth was suddenly very dry, “and what is the lethal dose?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Inga did look back at him this time, and her expression was grave, “For </span>
  <em>
    <span>Midgardian </span>
  </em>
  <span>children… just one berry.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki felt like </span>
  <em>
    <span>he </span>
  </em>
  <span>was going to be sick. He looked at his son and silently prayed to every god he knew that Kari would recover just fine. He didn’t know what he would do if anything </span>
  <em>
    <span>happened </span>
  </em>
  <span>to him; he didn’t know how he would break the news to Amelia if Kari’s condition worsened, all he knew was that he couldn’t lose his son. He couldn’t.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He tried to still his shaking hand as he rubbed Kari’s back tenderly. Loki held onto his hopes. Inga had said that the lethal dosage for a </span>
  <em>
    <span>Midgardian </span>
  </em>
  <span>child was just one berry, but Kari was part Jotun - his race was known for their natural resistance to disease and poisons. If Kari had even a shred of Jotun blood in him, Loki hoped to the gods that it was the part of him that could overcome this affliction.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>For once, Loki would be grateful at the thought of his Jotun heritage.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His thoughts were interrupted as Kari vomited into the bucket and proceeded to sob in his discomfort. “Good boy,” Loki whispered, “you’re a very brave boy, Kari.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari was crying again, he didn’t quite acknowledge his father’s words, because he was pleading for somebody else, “M-...mama?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki swallowed tightly, his gaze flicking back to the double doors he had rushed through barely ten minutes ago. He wasn’t sure how long it would be before Amelia turned up - the journey would no doubt take a while as Amelia was having to be led there at walking speed, or at least as fast as the guard could escort them. If only Amelia could ride a horse like an expert, she would probably have been right behind him. Loki regretted not teaching her more efficiently.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She- she’ll be here soon, little one. Just hold on.” In reality, it could be another half hour or more before Amelia arrived. Loki begged the gods to give his son strength.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Want mama,” Kari weeped, coughing and spluttering as he did so.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know,” Loki breathed, “She’s coming.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Inga approached suddenly with a bottled liquid, “I have it,” she announced, seemingly frazzled by how quickly she had brewed the mixture, “Kari, I need you to drink this-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The boy flailed when Inga brought the bottle near his face, obviously put off by what the last concoction had caused, “No… no!” He protested, turning his head away when Inga tried again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Kari,” Loki said firmly, “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>must </span>
  </em>
  <span>drink this. It will make you feel better.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari shook his head, trying to scoot away from Inga, wailing the whole time, “Mamaaa!” He was going to continue to refuse the medicine, it seemed, and Loki didn’t want to risk forcing it down his throat only for him to spit or cough it up, so he breathed a frustrated sigh and stood up, ignoring Inga’s look of nervous confusion, and took a few steps away from the bed to stand just beyond a partition where Kari could not see him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In a flash of green magic, he transformed his outward appearance into that of his wife and stepped back out into view. Inga understood immediately, holding the potion out for him to take, which he did as he returned to his seat by Kari’s bedside.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” Loki spoke using his wife’s gentle voice and accent, he allowed his face to soften, eyebrows unfurrowed, and gave the boy one of Amelia’s sweet smiles, “hey bug. Shhh, it’s okay, I’m right here.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari quietened almost immediately, a few stray sniffles and whines escaping him as he calmed down from his overwrought state and peered up at who he thought was his </span>
  <em>
    <span>mama </span>
  </em>
  <span>with wide, relieved eyes. “Mama?” he whimpered, reaching out to be held.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m here,” he told the boy, “you’re very brave, bug,” Amelia rarely called him anything but the affectionate nickname she had for him, “I need you to drink this, alright? It’ll stop your tummy from hurting.” Loki lifted the bottled medicine up before him and Kari looked at it with trepidation.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Sensing his reluctance, Loki continued, “If you drink this, you can have chocolate pudding as soon as you get better.” He was not above using little bribes if it meant his son would recover.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The mention of chocolate pudding made Kari’s eyes light up, and after another moment of hesitance, he gave in, obediently opening his mouth to drink the offered medicine. The antidote seemed to be a lot less disgusting than the previous mixture he’d been forced to imbibe, because Kari’s face didn’t scrunch up in revulsion, instead he simply sipped the elixir until it was all gone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki let out a breath, handing the empty bottle back to Inga, who seemed just as relieved. The healer inspected Kari for a few moments - he still looked a little queasy and pained, but now that he had drank the medicine, there was a good, hopeful chance that he would recover.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“When will we know that he’ll be okay?” Loki asked with Amelia’s voice, speaking his wife’s accent with a lot more ease than she had with his earlier that day, and idly stroked Kari’s forehead.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Inga looked briefly thoughtful, “Unless his condition worsens within the next two to three hours, he should be fine. We can keep a close eye on him until then.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki nodded, looking back to Kari who was now lying down, curled up on his side and clutching his </span>
  <em>
    <span>mama’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> hand tightly, as if afraid that he - </span>
  <em>
    <span>she</span>
  </em>
  <span> - would disappear if he didn’t hold onto her securely enough. As soon as Amelia turned up, Loki would transform back into himself, but until then, he felt it best to take her form and keep Kari pacified, even if it meant deceiving him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki stroked Kari’s head with his free hand, watching his son with a heavy heart. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He’ll be alright, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he told himself firmly, but he also couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that Kari looked so small and helpless. He was an eighteen month old toddler and Loki was </span>
  <em>
    <span>scared. </span>
  </em>
  <span>If there was any chance that the boy was more Midgardian than he was Jotun, there was a strong chance he could succumb to the poisoning.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He had to avert his gaze skyward and blink away the moisture that gathered in his eyes at the mere notion of such a thing. He couldn’t think like that. Kari was going to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The young boy’s whimpering drew Loki’s attention back to his son, and he leant over the child, brushing his thumb over Kari’s cheek, “I know, little one,” he comforted the boy, “you’ll start to feel better soon. I promise.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari’s hand patted lightly against his own stomach as the boy sniffled, “Hurts…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki chewed the inside of his lip and glanced up at Inga, who had returned to her workstation and was cleaning up several things that had fallen down in her rush to put together an antidote - he knew the healer would have offered something for Kari’s pain if he were allowed to take it, which meant either the boy was too young to take a pain relieving elixir, or it would interfere with the antidote he had already consumed. So Kari would have to endure the pain.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki breathed a tense sigh, “Do you want kangaroo?” He knew the toy was his son’s favourite, and that it would bring the child a whole lot more solace.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari looked up tearfully and nodded his head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright,” Loki whispered, giving the boy another of his wife’s winning smiles, “I’ll ask somebody to retrieve it.” Kari whined as he stood, the tiny had tightening on his own, and Loki quietly added, “I’ll be </span>
  <em>
    <span>right </span>
  </em>
  <span>back, I promise.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He looked to Inga, “Can you stand with him for just a moment?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course,” was Inga’s immediate response, and she came over and sat by Kari’s bed, examining him again while she was at it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki walked away tentatively and then turned his attention to the double doors; he walked through them a little less dramatically than he had entered, and caught sight of a guard passing by. “You!” He called out, and the guard halted and turned, “I need you to retrieve my son’s kangaroo toy from the children’s room.” His command was clear enough, but the guard blinked a few times and frowned.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh- of course, but… what is a kangaroo?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki understood the man’s unsure expression and sighed, “It’s… about this big”, he held his hands apart to gesture the size of it, “light brown, fluffy, should be on the bed furthest from the door. Be quick about it, please.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The guard nodded with a little more confidence, “Right away, princess.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki faltered, remembering he was wearing his wife’s face, and didn’t bother to correct the guard. It mattered not. However, the guard’s would probably all gossip at the fact that Princess Amelia had suddenly become a whole lot more pushy with giving orders - the thought almost amused him, because Amelia was so quiet and hesitant when asking the guard’s for anything, making sure to throw in several ‘please’ and ‘thank you’s.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He rejoined his son, held his hand, and waited for Amelia to turn up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia dashed as fast as her legs could carry her - though her speed was limited to a brisk walk owing to the fact that she held Aster at her hip and didn’t want to risk tripping up - towards the infirmary, her lips pursed with nerves as she went. Aster, as always, was completely quiet, but Amelia could sense that the girl was worried about her brother.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Loki had sprinted off in a hurry clutching their son tightly, Amelia had had to hide her fear from her daughter, who seemed to know something was wrong; Amelia had said very little to Aster apart from the occasional </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t you worry, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and </span>
  <em>
    <span>Kari’s gonna be fine, </span>
  </em>
  <span>by way of pacifying the girl. The whole journey back to the palace, however, Amelia had spent stewing in anxiety. Why would Kari fall so sick </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> suddenly? The only thing Amelia could glean from Loki’s reaction was that Kari was in </span>
  <em>
    <span>danger, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and that thought scared her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She hated to see her child in any form of pain. He was just a baby, babies weren’t supposed to suffer. She hoped more than anything that when she marched through the infirmary doors, she would find her son fully healed and no longer in distress. Inga </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>an amazing healer, so Amelia kept telling herself that there would be nothing to fear.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her calf muscles were aching with the force of which she pushed her feet off the stone flooring at a pace she wasn’t used to walking, but she couldn’t slow down, not if her son was still in pain - what if he needed her? She couldn’t waste anymore time.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Finally, after what seemed like far too long, she rounded a corner and saw the doors to the infirmary ahead of her. She sped up, shoes clicking hard as they came down upon the ground, and she saw Aster glancing up at her out of the corner of her eye, her expression - a mix of confused and worried - doing all the talking for her. She looked as though the thought going through her mind was </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘it is most unlike you to rush around like this, mother’, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and it perhaps seemed to highlight the urgency of the situation and make her more concerned for her brother.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As Amelia came up heavily on the double doors, her flighty strides were suspended when a voice called to her from behind, followed by footsteps.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“My princess! I have found it-” one of the palace guards approached and held up Kari’s favourite toy - the cuddly kangaroo. The guard came to a stop before her, holding it out for her to take, “as you requested, your highness.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia took the familiar toy without hesitation, looking down at it with a flicker of confusion before coming to the logical conclusion that Loki must have asked the guard to fetch it for the boy, knowing it would be a comfort for him, but that didn’t explain why the guard spoke as if she was the one who requested it. Amelia chose not to address that line of inquiry.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh- yes. Thank you,” her fingers held the toy a little more tightly and she repeated herself quietly, “thank you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course, my lady. Is there anything else I can do for you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia blinked and shook her head, “Oh, no, that’s okay…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Allow me to open the door for you,” the guard offered, noting that both of Amelia’s hands were now full, and quickly stepped around her, seeming eager to please. He pushed one of the doors in and stood aside so that Amelia could pass.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Amelia told him for a third time, nodding her head in gratitude. The moment she crossed the threshold of the infirmary, she recovered her previous train of thought - her son, her mind reminded her urgently, and she stepped fully into the room as the door fell shut behind her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her eyes gravitated over the occupied beds and fell on the cot where her small son’s form rested. Amelia approached quickly, staring at the back of the head of the unfamiliar woman sitting beside Kari, and when the mysterious woman turned her head, Amelia froze as a shock flashed through her. She was staring at herself.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Another silent beat passed, and with a green flash, her doppelgänger stood and transformed into Loki.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The confusion and tension dissipated and Amelia slumped slightly in place, </span>
  <em>
    <span>yeah, that made sense.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster took the kangaroo toy from Amelia’s other hand and then stretched her arms out towards the bed where Kari was curled up with his eyes shut, his face slightly screwed up in discomfort, and Amelia took the cue to step forward and place Aster down beside him, moving to sit in the chair as Loki stepped back.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How is he?” Amelia asked gently, the waver in her voice betraying her emotions; her son appeared to be resting, but there were still specks of perspiration on his forehead and his skin was still clammy to the touch - the sight did nothing to settle her nerves, because surely if Inga could reverse his condition, she would have done it by now.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster crawled to the head of the bed, considerately sliding kangaroo down under Kari’s arm so that he could cuddle it, and then she sort of gently slung herself over him in a protective embrace, laying her head against his arm and patting his shoulder. The innocent, caring gesture made Amelia want to cry. With one hand, she began to pet Kari’s head, while the other rubbed Aster’s back.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The beautiful display distracted Amelia enough that she didn’t immediately notice when Loki didn’t answer her question. She turned to her husband, eyes wide and fearful, her heart dropping to her stomach, and repeated her question more forcefully, “How </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>he, Loki?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s jaw clenched momentarily as his gaze flickered between Amelia and their children, and then he quietly admitted, “I’m not sure, yet,” to Amelia’s intense dismay; she stared at him with her mouth agape for several moments before urging him to explain himself.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” Her voice trembled, and added, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Loki?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>with a pleading tone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki drew in a steeling breath, “Inga believes he has consumed poisonous yew berries down by the lake. They’re- they can make a child </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>ill. She’s administered an antidote, but she said it works slowly, we don’t know if it will have worked for another few hours. She said to inform her at once if his condition worsens.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia could hardly believe what she was hearing. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Yew berries? </span>
  </em>
  <span>She hadn’t seen Kari eating anything off the ground, because she sure as hell would’ve told him off for it to dissuade it from ever happening again. A wave of perturbation went through her, “And… what happens if his condition worsens?” she inquired tentatively, “If he doesn’t get better?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s gaze flickered away from Amelia’s firm stare - he couldn’t look her in the eyes. “He’ll get better,” he assured Amelia, but his words were unfortunately lacking in conviction. Amelia swallowed tightly, her eyebrows furrowing and her face scrunching up tightly as she blinked back tears.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>In the hours that followed, Kari thankfully showed signs of improvement, until finally Inga declared that he would make a full recovery; the boy’s strength returned after spending the rest of the day in the infirmary where Inga could monitor him, and by the time the healer was confident enough to discharge the boy, he was already asking about the chocolate pudding he’d been promised earlier that day. The child’s insistence for it brought Loki a whole world of relief. The king was made aware of the issue, and Thor immediately called for the removal of the yew trees, commanding that more harmless saplings be planted in their stead so that such an accident would not occur again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Of course, Loki believed they could avoid a repeat of the same situation if he paid closer attention and kept a tight watch on his children. He was aggrieved with himself for not watching the twins the entire time, angry that he had looked away for even a </span>
  <em>
    <span>moment </span>
  </em>
  <span>that something like this could have occurred.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He hadn’t had his eyes on Kari every second of every minute of every hour they had been at the lake, but he knew who </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>been paying closer attention.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>That evening, Loki took Aster aside and asked her firmly if she had witnessed her brother eating any berries, or anything of the sort off of the ground, and she answered no with a shake of her head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We aren’t angry,” Loki clarified, “we would just like to know the truth.” He asked her again if she had seen Kari eating red berries, but she remained adamant in her answer, shaking her head ‘no’ with a pout on her lips.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki didn’t know if she was covering for her brother - clearly she understood that her mother and father were very upset about it and that it linked to Kari’s illness; perhaps she believed that nodding her head in assent would put Kari in trouble. Loki did not know, but it left a sickly feeling in the pit of his stomach nonetheless.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I would GREATLY appreciate if you could leave a comment, it really truly helps to hear that my writing is appreciated &lt;3</p>
<p>Anybody wanna know what the next chapter is gonna be about? It's one that several of you have been waiting for! That's right, it's time for blue babies ;)</p>
<p>Hope you all had a happy Halloween, if you celebrate it that is ;) I played a scary video game with my friend and then had some pretty awful nightmares lmao.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0031"><h2>31. The Sweetest Hue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The children experience snow for the first time, with unexpected results.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey everybody! </p><p>So, I'm currently self-isolating because a friend of mine who I was with just last week called me up and informed me that he tested positive for COVID! So ain't that lovely. So far I feel totally fine, but I'm having to remain in my room in case I'm asymptomatic. It's not a huge bother though because I pretty much just stay in my room all day anyway. Thought I'd take the time to go ahead and write the chapter you've all been waiting for though! ;)</p><p>I hope you all enjoy this very long chapter! :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>The twins’ second birthday had been celebrated two days ago and the toddlers hadn’t really understood why everybody was paying so much attention to them, lavishing them with gifts of toys and pretty clothes, or why they were allowed to eat so many sweet treats, but they certainly didn’t complain. Amelia had been fretting over the condition of the childrens’ teeth while Loki had seen no problems with it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He declared that the twins could eat what they wanted on their birthday, and Amelia had cynically responded “yeah, sure, are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>gonna clean up their vomit or do I have to?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A maid will,” Loki responded dismissively, either not picking up on her sarcasm - </span>
  <em>
    <span>unlikely </span>
  </em>
  <span>- or just simply ignoring it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Predictably, Aster had eaten a few too many sweet cakes and thrown up all over the new dress she had received; Amelia had shot Loki an ‘</span>
  <em>
    <span>I told you so’</span>
  </em>
  <span> glare across the table as maids had stepped forward to clean the girl up while Aster whined in discomfort, probably still suffering from an achy stomach. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh dear,” Loki had stated, giving his daughter a sympathetic look, like Amelia </span>
  <em>
    <span>hadn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>warned him hours prior that she was on-track to throwing up. That was when Amelia had stepped up and stopped Kari from eating more treats, lest he were to end up just like his sister, which of course had caused the boy to start crying because from his perspective, there could never be enough food that would leave him satisfied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia was convinced that if she hadn’t stopped Kari, he probably would’ve thrown up and then just continued to eat. It was a wonder the boy hadn’t ballooned to the size of a small elephant given how much he was prone to snacking, but Amelia figured it was more than likely to do with Loki’s genetics. Loki similarly could eat a lot, but never seemed to put on weight. Maybe Jotuns just had a very fast metabolism, and perhaps the kids had inherited that from their father.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anyway, that had been a couple of days ago. Today, Loki was attending a meeting as Thor’s chief advisor, talking about expansion and concerns and various other discussions that happened to pop up with the monarch. It was secret stuff, Loki either wasn’t allowed to explore those matters with her, or he chose not to. It didn’t bother Amelia, though, she had enough on her plate raising her two children, she didn’t need to hear about any concerning issues beyond her control within Asgard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Since Loki had told Amelia his meeting would take some time, she had decided to take the children outside for a short while despite the very cold temperatures. It was below freezing and there was a soft, white blanket of snow covering the ground in the palace gardens, so she had had the children bundled up in warm furs from head to toe, along with scarves, mittens and bobble hats just to be on the safe side. They deserved to experience snow for the first time up close and personal, but she didn’t want them to be too cold.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was amusing, watching the bundled children waddle along the path - in their current attire, it wasn’t easy for them to move around so much, but their curious little minds didn’t let that stop them. It was adorable to watch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At first, they just stared at the white snow in confusion, wondering what it was and why it had replaced the colourful green of the grass and the many different hues of the flowers that had been there months prior, and then they took their first steps atop the snow and listened to the slight crunch of it beneath their boots.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” Amelia whispered, speaking quietly because she felt that talking any louder would disturb the peacefulness of the gardens. It was beautiful outside, with the bright white snow upon the ground and the sun showing its face in the sky, everything just felt like it was shining and vivid.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It pretty,” Kari parroted, the words slightly muffled from behind the scarf wrapped around the lower half of his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster stepped onto the ground where the grass was soft beneath the snow and had more give, her little boots sinking in a little more than they had on the path, and immediately she began moving excitedly from one foot to another, crushing the snow beneath her feet and giggling as she did so.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was too sweet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia sat down on the nearby bench, watching her children play in and discover the snow for themselves; it seemed a positive experience thus far if their enthusiastic happy noises were anything to go by. Amelia herself pulled her gloves on a little more tightly and sunk into her cloak, wrapping it firmly around herself to try and keep the cold from permeating through her. There was no way she could stay out here with the kids for too long, her cheeks were already on the way to becoming rosy and she already missed the warmth of the fireplace in her and Loki’s bedroom.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Having fun?” a soft, feminine voice called, and Amelia looked up to see Signy approaching. She was dressed similarly to Amelia, wearing a big cloak and gloves and a bright smile on her face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia patted the bench beside her, inviting the Asgardian woman to sit and join her, which Signy did with a shiver; the woman copied Amelia’s method of keeping warm, which was to wrap up tight and pray that her body heat didn’t escape.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see you take to the cold as well as I do,” Amelia observed with a snort.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh,” Signy smiled, “yes, myself and the entire population of Asgard. We aren’t acclimatised to these kinds of temperatures. The palace on our homeworld was situated in an area of perpetual Summer, so we didn’t really feel the cold all that much. We’ve had to start getting used to it now, though.” She made a noise of dismay and shivered again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s colder here than in Manhattan,” Amelia informed, “this is my first Winter in Norway, and, uh, it’s pretty dang cold.” While Winter was beautiful in and of itself, Amelia missed the colours of Summer flowers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure it’ll warm up before we know it,” Signy replied optimistically, also yearning for the days where one could comfortably walk about without a big furry cloak on their shoulders.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hopefully.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What about them?” Signy nodded her head towards the little ones, smiling at them as they played contentedly ahead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, it seems that they don’t really mind the cold,” Amelia scrutinised her children closely, watching for any sign of discomfort from the chilling temperature of the air. She raised her voice slightly, “Kari, Aster, are you warm enough?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari replied airily with a simple </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘yes’,</span>
  </em>
  <span> more focused on creating footprints than anything else, while Aster was squatting down and flattening the snow with her mitten-covered hands, paying no attention whatsoever.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aster,” Amelia repeated herself, waiting for the girl to acknowledge her, and then signed with her hands alongside her verbal speech, “are you warm enough?” It was to prompt the girl to respond with the sign language she had been learning for the past six months. It was slow moving, but progress was being made, both for Amelia and for Aster.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster made a fist and moved it up and down at the wrist, the word </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘yes’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>in American Sign Language. Amelia gave the girl a pleased smile and nodded her head as the little girl went back to her snow-flattening experiment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia turned back to Signy, “I think they get it from their father. The cold doesn’t affect him. He could walk around out here in nothing but his underwear and it’d be like nothing was different to him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Signy chuckled in amusement, “Well that’s an interesting mental image.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At the ensuing lull in conversation, Amelia glanced over to her friend, watching her curiously as the Asgardian woman smiled fondly at the children. “So,” Amelia began, a slight air of coyness in her tone, “your sister and the King.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Signy glanced over at Amelia, eyebrows quirked in surprise at the princess’s playful tone, “My sister and the king?” She repeated dumbly, like she didn’t know what Amelia was probing for.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia smirked, “What’s the hot gossip? Do I hear </span>
  <em>
    <span>wedding bells </span>
  </em>
  <span>approaching?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Signy gave a small huff of a laugh, her breath escaping her mouth in a little white cloud, and shook her head. “What makes you think I would know how those two are getting along?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um, because Inga is your sister?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, yes, but-” Signy paused, “She doesn’t tell me </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, what </span>
  <em>
    <span>has</span>
  </em>
  <span> she told you?” Amelia asked. She was desperate to know where Thor and Inga were at in their relationship; it had been roughly two and a half years since they had first met and promptly made heart eyes at each other. The flirting came soon after and the rest was history. Amelia knew Thor had been looking for somebody, and he had found somebody who seemed to match with him perfectly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The problem was, they were very quiet about their relationship. Secretive and reserved. Amelia was pretty sure that nobody beyond the king’s advisors, except for a few guards, were in the know about Thor and Inga. They kept it private and far away from the eyes of the Asgardian populace. Amelia wasn’t sure why.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, the other day Inga was telling me that she thinks the king’s beard is </span>
  <em>
    <span>too sharp,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Signy emphasized the last two words with an oddly embarrassed grin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Too </span>
  <em>
    <span>sharp? </span>
  </em>
  <span>What’s that supposed to mean?” Amelia looked confused, wondering exactly how such a problem could arise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Signy looked at her for a minute, eyes wide as her cheeks reddened from something other than the cold weather, “Yeah… </span>
  <em>
    <span>you know.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia blinked and frowned, “No. I don’t?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Signy pursed her lips, staring at Amelia for a few drawn out moments with a look that begged her to figure out what she was talking about, but Amelia had no clue at all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you actually gonna make me repeat what my sister told me about…” Signy trailed off, realising that Amelia wasn’t faking her obliviousness, and she blushed further, covering her mouth with her hand to hide her giggles, “Amelia- wow, I thought… I really thought you’d know what I was talking about.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tell me already!” Amelia pleaded, feeling embarrassed that she didn’t know what her friend was talking about.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Signy sighed and spoke very quietly, “You better not repeat this to anyone. My sister said that she didn’t like how sharp his beard felt when they were, um, being intimate. Said it scratches her thighs.” She covered her mouth in an instant, as if guilty that she had let such a thing slip.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia stared at her friend in confusion, “Wait, wh- ...How does it scratch her </span>
  <em>
    <span>thighs </span>
  </em>
  <span>when they-” she froze, cutting herself off promptly as she realised what Signy was insinuating. Oh. Inga had just casually been telling her sister that Thor’s beard hurt her thighs during </span>
  <em>
    <span>oral sex.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mm-hmm,” Signy hummed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia covered her face briefly, mortification setting in, “Okay, wait- </span>
  <em>
    <span>why </span>
  </em>
  <span>was she telling you that?” Amelia couldn’t even begin to imagine ever confiding in her brother about personal details of her sex life, perhaps Asgardians were a little less reserved than she initially thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Signy let out a sharp, loud laugh, “She didn’t mean to- she was asking if I knew of any lotions that could soften beard hair, and I thought that was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>strange </span>
  </em>
  <span>question-” she paused to inhale through her laughter, “so I kept asking what she meant, why she was asking that, until she got really embarrassed and told me exactly why.” She finished with a snort.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So much for your sister </span>
  <em>
    <span>not telling you everything!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia snapped, sharing in the embarrassment. Well, at least Signy’s words gave her a good, accurate insight into what level Thor and Inga were at in their relationship, “I feel like you shouldn’t even be telling me this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pft,” Signy smirked, “it’s payback for all the times Inga teased me as a child. Besides, I thought you would figure out what I was implying anyway.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia groaned, hiding behind her hands again and gently murmured, “Loki doesn’t grow facial hair… I don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>that problem.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her words seemed to make Signy’s joy return anew as she let out another bout of chuckles, trying desperately to stifle them. The children were glancing over with puzzled looks on their faces, wondering what mama and her friend were laughing so much about, heedless and unaware of the conversation that was going on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look, I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>asking </span>
  </em>
  <span>about whether they were thinking of getting married, not details on their sex life,” Amelia quietly reprimanded good-naturedly. Her face wore a smirk as she fought through her bashfulness, “Thor always avoids the subject, I don’t get it. I thought he wanted to get married.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They do,” Signy pointed out after composing herself, finally shedding some light on her sister’s relationship, “they definitely </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>want to get married, but they’re nervous. And royal weddings take months and months of planning - sometimes even </span>
  <em>
    <span>years,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and the King is caught up in his duties, and my sister is intimidated by the idea of being </span>
  <em>
    <span>queen </span>
  </em>
  <span>of Asgard,” she shook her head, “there’s plenty of reasons.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” Amelia nodded, “nervous about being queen, that’s understandable, but you can’t be telling me weddings take years of planning when I got married to Loki like three weeks after he proposed.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Signy shrugged slightly, grinning down at her boots like she was thinking about responding sassily but second-guessing herself, “Well, I think Prince Loki was feeling unusually impulsive after you were almost taken away, plus learning you were pregnant… I think he just wanted to make you his as fast as impossible.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia smiled subtly, glancing over to check on her babies, “I was already his.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Signy rolled her eyes almost teasingly in response.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Still, I hope Thor and Inga figure themselves out and get hitched soon,” Amelia thought aloud, “I see the way they look at each other… the way they interact in the presence of friends. They love each other so much.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Signy nodded and murmured, “That they do,” in agreement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a beat of silence and then Amelia asked, “What about you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The question took Signy off guard, her eyes widening as her mouth fell open, “Wh- what do you mean?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You seeing anyone?” Amelia’s eyebrow quirked impishly, “You jealous that your sister is the </span>
  <em>
    <span>king’s </span>
  </em>
  <span>romantic interest?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Pft,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Signy snorted in genuine amusement, “Not even. I remember when all the girls would fawn over Prince Thor, looking for any reason to start chatting with him - and he’d chat to </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>of them, mind you,” she shook her head, and then seemed to pause, a flicker of mischief appearing in her eyes, and then she offhandedly continued, “Actually, I had more of a crush on Prince Loki when I was younger.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia coughed and spluttered, caught in chortling surprise, and then her eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly, “Is that </span>
  <em>
    <span>so?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She didn’t quite know how to feel about the information that her friend had a crush on her husband, but Signy saw her expression and began to cackle all over again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gods, you are so easy to wind up,” Signy pointed out playfully as she pushed back a strand of blonde hair that had fallen from behind her ear, and Amelia rolled her eyes, realising that she’d fallen for a silly prank, “I never crushed on Loki. I’ve never really had a crush on anyone, to be honest.” She shrugged her shoulders, “I’m happy being unattached anyway, I find myself caught up more and more in my work, sewing all day long. I find it therapeutic, you know?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmm. I wish I could sew like you can,” Amelia said. Signy’s creations were always immensely beautiful and had so much love and detail poured into them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Signy shined at the compliment, “Why, thank you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The conversation fell for a final time and Signy declared that she had to get back to her workshop. Amelia watched her go with a fond smile - the Asgardian woman had gotten so bold since they’d first met, and Amelia was truly glad for it. Signy had been timid and reserved after Eruk had taken her, but now she was loud and bubbly and surprisingly waggish. Amelia was glad to have her as a friend.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia watched her children. Kari was picking up handfuls of fluffy snow and throwing it in the air while Aster twirled around, dancing in it as the snow fell down. Amelia couldn’t help but think they’d be further dazzled if they saw the snow falling from the sky in real-time. It was unfortunate the current blanket of snow had fallen in the silence of the night.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you both still warm enough?” She called out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mama, look!” Kari shouted, continuing to throw snow up into the air and watch it fall, as if Amelia hadn’t been watching him do that already.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wow!” Amelia played along in amusement, “How high can you throw the snow?” Her question prompted Kari to try and throw the snow higher and higher while Aster watched in awe.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia smiled. </span>
  <em>
    <span>They were fine. </span>
  </em>
  <span>The cold really didn’t seem to bother them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A dark figure in Amelia’s peripheral quickly drew her attention with a flutter of anxiety, until she realised it was her husband creeping up the path towards them, and she fully relaxed, giving him a wave. He didn’t wave back, but he seemed glad to see her, and as he came closer, Amelia could tell he was just a little bit stressed out. It was incredibly subtle on his face, but Amelia picked up on it with ease - she knew her husband like the back of her hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki was dressed in his Asgardian leathers, which didn’t look like the warmest outfit in the world, but as Amelia had been thinking just moments ago - her husband didn’t even feel the cold. His gaze looked over the kids as he reached the bench and he sat beside Amelia, who immediately scooted right up to his side and laid her head against his shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Heyyy,” Amelia sighed, her tone vaguely sing-song in nature, “You look upset. Everything okay?” She looked up at him and batted her eyelashes, examining his face. He looked radiant as the snow reflected off his pale skin and brought out the beautiful green of his eyes, his black hair a stark contrast cascading down below his shoulders. Ugh, he was so pretty even when he looked kinda disgruntled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stared at her as she stared at him for several moments, and then he sighed, “I hate the snow.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia gave him a small smile, “Well, your children appear to love it.” With a fleeting glance, Amelia found that Kari had discovered that the grass was still present, just trapped beneath the layer of snow, and he was playing the part of a snow-plow, trying to kick up all the snow to free the nature underneath.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes. I noticed.” Loki’s tone was clipped.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, tell me what’s going on,” Amelia said plainly, eyeing her husband with a knowing eye. It wasn’t just the snow that was bothering him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki surveyed his wife’s face, his lips turning up at the corners only slightly, and he pulled off the leather glove that covered his hand. He reached up and pressed it to Amelia’s cheek - she instinctively flinched, knowing that Loki’s hands were </span>
  <em>
    <span>always cold. </span>
  </em>
  <span>But this time, Amelia found after a fraction of a second of contact that his hands were actually warmer than the air around them. She covered Loki’s hand with her own, pressing it more firmly to her icy cold cheek, and sighed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re too cold,” Loki stated, “Perhaps we should go back inside.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The children are having so much fun, I can bear it a little longer. Now, stop avoiding my question, what’s up?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki gave a slightly sarcastic huff of a laugh, “Alright, but first answer me this. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why </span>
  </em>
  <span>did Signy just burst into fits of laughter as she passed me in the corridor, and why did she remark that you are lucky I don’t grow facial hair?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia pursed her lips to stop herself from smiling, her cheeks warmed up just marginally at the embarrassment of what had occurred a little while ago, and she shook her head, “Trust me, you don’t want to know.” She didn’t think Loki would appreciate hearing about what Inga and his brother were getting up to in the privacy of the king’s chambers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmpf.” Loki rolled his eyes, pulling his hand away to once again cover it with his leather glove. “The king’s advisors are all a bunch of morons, that’s why I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>upset,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>he said the word sarcastically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re </span>
  </em>
  <span>one of the king’s advisors.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean </span>
  <em>
    <span>apart from me, </span>
  </em>
  <span>love,” Loki mumbled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia paused, moving to rest her hand on her husband’s thigh in a comforting way. She could have left her line of questioning there, but her curiosity compelled her to ask why exactly he was criticising those who joined him in advising the king.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What happened, babe?” Amelia asked gently, preparing for her husband to bring the conversation to a stand still and diverge to another subject entirely, but surprisingly, Loki actually offered her some intel.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The librarian did an inventory check on all the books in the library this week and found that a couple of the books had been replaced with fake copies - the insides of the pages were completely blank - and that the last confirmed checkout for those books were roughly nine months ago,” Loki began wearily, “They were two books on </span>
  <em>
    <span>dark, </span>
  </em>
  <span>prohibited magic, and as such, were kept in the restricted section under lock and key, which means at some point in the last nine months, they have been stolen.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia frowned. Somebody had stolen books from the library? And not just any old books - </span>
  <em>
    <span>dangerous </span>
  </em>
  <span>books? And they intended to cover their tracks by placing fakes in their place? That did not sound good. “Right… so…?” Amelia prompted tentatively. She knew it was bad, but why was Loki so infuriated by the advisors for bringing this to attention?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki gazed at his wife expectantly, “So,” he grumbled, “they immediately accused me of being the one to steal them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia's eyes widened, “Uh, what?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They threw their allegations at me, pointed their grubby fingers in my face and told my brother I couldn’t be trusted, without any evidence supporting their theories, I might add,” Loki was practically seething, his tone snappy and vexed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, hold on,” Amelia lifted her hands in front of her and shook her head, “what- and Thor </span>
  <em>
    <span>believed </span>
  </em>
  <span>them?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” Loki said at once, “Thor is less of an idiot than his advisors, he didn’t think for one moment that I would do this. It’s stupid, one would only need to use a single brain cell to deduce that I was not responsible for this mishap,” he spoke, “after all, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>clearance to check those books out, why would I need to steal them in order to view their contents?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia raised an eyebrow, “You have clearance?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki’s eyes narrowed slightly at Amelia’s surprised look, “Well, yes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You have clearance to check out books about evil magic?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Dark </span>
  </em>
  <span>magic.” Loki corrected tightly, “I don’t like your tone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>Amelia laughed, “My love, I am not accusing you of anything. I am just curious, what kind of spells constitute dark</span> <span>magic?”</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki looked almost pouty for a moment; Amelia could tell he had really been riled up in the royal advisors meeting given the fact he was acting all snippy with her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know… the kind of magic that ignores things like morals and ethics. Necromancy, mind control, thought and memory alteration, spells that steal life from others and absorbs into the caster… intrusive spells that allow the caster to see into the minds of others.” He listed them off with a shrug of his shoulders.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia soaked up the information and looked thoughtful for a moment, “So who is on the records as being the last person to check the books out?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki’s expression went blank, “...I was.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia gave her husband a sardonic look, “Are you kidding me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look,” Loki began, his voice quiet but forceful, “I have my reasons for researching into that kind of magic, and I assure you none of those reasons are nefarious. Do you </span>
  <em>
    <span>honestly </span>
  </em>
  <span>think I would do anything to </span>
  <em>
    <span>harm </span>
  </em>
  <span>this kingdom?” He spoke hotly, truly distressed at how everyone seemed to be putting the blame on him, and Amelia shook her head immediately, dropping any playfulness and teasing she’d been harbouring in her expression.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki was not in a joking mood, that was obvious.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, love. Absolutely not. I know you didn’t steal those books. I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you were this upset.” Amelia put an arm around her lover, leaning into his side again, and Loki visibly relaxed, looking just a little bit abashed that he had gotten over-emotional and thought there was even a chance his wife didn’t trust him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I thought after all this time that they trusted me, but I suppose I’m the first to be suspected when anything unusual happens,” he sounded exasperated, and then quietly added, “perhaps I shouldn’t have spent my whole life playing pranks on them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia chuckled lightly, shaking her head at the situation Loki had found himself in, “Hey, listen… Thor trusts you. That’s what’s important. Your brother knows you, and I’m sure you’ll all find out who the real culprit is, and then those advisors will be sorry they pointed fingers at you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki turned his head, pressing his lips against Amelia’s forehead and letting them sit there, “We’ve no clue where to look. These books could have been missing for up to nine months, any clues potentially left behind would be long-erased by now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia thought for a moment, feeling her husband’s hot breath against the side of her head, “Is this something that… could be dangerous?” The thought of someone stealing those restricted books left her feeling uneasy - the books were prohibited for a reason, which meant there was a chance whoever took them intended to do harm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki was quiet for a minute, which worried Amelia, and then after a short while he told her, “I’m the most powerful sorcerer in the kingdom, if anybody were to </span>
  <em>
    <span>try </span>
  </em>
  <span>and bring harm to the people of Asgard, they would not be able to overpower or outwit me. You’re safe,” he told her assuredly, “We’re safe.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia smiled softly. Loki’s affirming words always made her feel so safe and secure, she didn’t know what she would do if she didn’t have him protecting her and the children. At the thought of her little ones, she turned her head slightly from where it was buried in Loki’s neck and shoulder, and looked to Kari and Aster.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And she froze.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The twins had taken off their mittens, which lay forgotten at their feet, and both of them knelt on the snow-flattened grass, their fingers dug into the icy mounds that Kari had kicked up earlier in his attempt to reveal all the grass again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t the fear that their little digits would contract frostbite that had Amelia holding her breath. It was the fact that their hands and wrists had turned a vivid royal blue from the icy contact. Amelia swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry with shock, and a million thoughts rushed through her head at once. Her mind was so filled with too many overlapping, indistinct notions that she could barely even figure out what she was thinking, but one thing rocketed above the rest of the white noise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Loki. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t noticed yet. He may have assumed her sudden tautness was owed to the small gust of frigid air that blew through Amelia’s hair and crawled down her neck, because his arm tightened around her minutely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia’s mouth twitched as she rushed to form words, but her mind had yet to catch up as she struggled to figure out what to say in that moment. What </span>
  <em>
    <span>could </span>
  </em>
  <span>she say? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t look now, love, but the kids are looking a little blue. </span>
  </em>
  <span>There was no way she could gently inform him of what was occurring before them, in any way, without triggering any sort of negative reactions from her husband.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She knew Loki all too well. She knew that he always had and probably always would hold a grudge against the Jotun side of himself, no matter what Amelia did to try to convince him that it didn’t define him and that there was nothing wrong with his birth form.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All Amelia knew in that moment was that things weren’t about to get difficult and emotional.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t freak out, Loki,” Amelia breathed, the words rushing out of her mouth timidly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a beat of puzzled silence, and Loki shifted, moving his face away from where he had been nuzzling her hair; his green eyes scanned her apprehensive face obliviously, a trickle of worry setting into his features as his eyebrows furrowed. He was about to question her seemingly odd request but his eyes flickered to Kari and Aster.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia knew the moment it clocked. Loki’s face slackened in shock, his eyebrows shot up and his mouth hung open. His eyes glazed over with something akin to fear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Loki…” Amelia spoke gently, in the same way one might address a frightened animal, “Just… it’s okay…” She didn’t quite know </span>
  <em>
    <span>what </span>
  </em>
  <span>to tell her husband to get him to calm down, she wasn’t even quite sure he could hear her as he didn’t react to her flimsy attempt to compose him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mama, look!” Kari interrupted, using his favourite phrase to draw his mother’s attention; he was stumbling over, his now-completely blue hands raised in the air, and Amelia wished in that moment that she’d had the foresight to grab onto Loki’s arm to force him to remain still.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki jumped up and took a few staggering steps backwards, away from the bench, as Kari came to a stop before Amelia. Close up, Amelia could see the deep blue hue creeping up Kari’s neck and begin to completely engulf the normally pale skin of his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“H-hey, bug,” Amelia stammered with uncertainty, and lifted her gloved hands to press against the boy’s cheeks, “um… are you cold?” Through her woolly gloves, she could feel the chill radiating from his cheeks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No mama!” Kari confidently proclaimed, waving his hands before Amelia’s eyes. He paused, looking at his fingers curiously, touching his skin searchingly, “Look… look. Why blue, mama?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t seem afraid at all, looking mostly confused that his skin was changing colour - the boy was oblivious to his father’s distress and his mother’s apprehension, turning his hand over as he examined it with much interest, asking the innocent and unmindful question about why he was changing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari blinked his wide eyes, looking up at his mother, and Amelia watched as his bright green eyes bled into red. Amelia was bewildered, but not for the reasons Loki was probably thinking she was. He hadn’t said a word, standing a few steps back stock-still and silent as he stared with a piercing gaze at his children.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I-I don’t know, bug,” Amelia murmured, unsure of how to address the subject, but she knew immediately that she couldn’t let her children think this was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>bad </span>
  </em>
  <span>thing, “Um… probably the snow! How strange, that hasn’t happened before.” She forced a playful note into her voice for the sake of her little ones and glanced at her husband out of the corner of her eye. Still no response.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was driving her crazy. Amelia </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed </span>
  </em>
  <span>him to say something and break the icy </span>
  <em>
    <span>- no pun intended -</span>
  </em>
  <span> atmosphere at once; she had no point of reference for how to deal with a situation like this and, well, she supposed Loki didn’t really have one either. But he was always so quick to say the </span>
  <em>
    <span>right </span>
  </em>
  <span>thing after all the tens of parenting books he’d read through and learned from that it was so utterly nerve-wracking when he didn’t seem to have an inkling for what to say.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Please, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia begged, </span>
  <em>
    <span>say something. Anything would suffice.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki faltered, taking another half-step back, looking between his two children with a pained expression, and then three words fell from his lips, so quiet that Amelia almost didn’t hear him, “This is wrong.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Anything but THAT.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia’s mouth hung open as she stared at her husband despondently. How could he possibly say such a thing?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Unlike Kari, Aster looked worried. She was a tad more perceptive, it seemed, because she knew this was unusual and completely out of the ordinary. Her face was also in the process of turning blue, her eyes growing red, it was a little more difficult for Amelia to detect the emotions flicking through the young girl’s expression, but she was sure it all amounted to anxiety.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster turned to her dad and moved her arms around herself in an ‘X’ formation, sign language for the word ‘hug’, and Amelia drew in a breath, looking to her husband pleadingly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Go to her and pick her up, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia begged in her mind, and felt her throat tighten when Loki didn’t immediately move to cuddle his daughter like he </span>
  <em>
    <span>always </span>
  </em>
  <span>did.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster noticed her father’s hesitance. She lifted her arms expectantly, choosing another non-verbal way to request a hug from her dad, but again he didn’t move, merely stared at her with that jarring look on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia bit at her lip, fighting the urge to snap at her husband, because from her point of view this was completely unacceptable.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then, Aster walked towards him, arms still outstretched, waiting for her father to pick her up and hold her, but he didn’t. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki backed away suddenly with a few sharp steps, holding one hand out to stop her in her tracks; he didn’t want her coming any closer to him. He didn’t want his </span>
  <em>
    <span>daughter </span>
  </em>
  <span>to step any closer. Amelia couldn’t believe her eyes. Could Loki </span>
  <em>
    <span>see </span>
  </em>
  <span>himself at that moment? Did he understand how cold and callous he seemed? Did he understand how much that action could hurt Aster?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster looked heartbreakingly baffled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia glowered at her husband, who turned to look at her with an expression that was devoid of any composure. His face was scrunched up like he was trying hard not to cry, and underneath the surface there were waves upon waves of shame rolling off of him. He didn’t hold Amelia’s gaze for long, because moments later he turned and fled, walking fast with desperate strides out of the gardens and back into the palace.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia couldn’t believe what had just happened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster’s arms lowered slowly as she stared down the path where her father had just left her in a hurry. She suddenly looked very fearful, so she did the only thing she could think to do, which just so happened to be crying very loudly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari looked between his sister and his mother in concerned puzzlement, his little face suggesting he was unsure about what had just happened, but perceptive enough to know that it definitely wasn’t good. Amelia pursed her lips and let an exhale out through her nose as she fought to control her emotions in front of her children. She wanted to cry and shout out of frustration, more specifically - she wanted to shout </span>
  <em>
    <span>at Loki </span>
  </em>
  <span>for what he had just done, but she didn’t want to lose her temper in front of Aster and Kari, so she tried her best to quash it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Holding out a gloved hand towards her daughter, Amelia coaxed her to come closer, “Aster, come here sweetie.” The girl took the invitation immediately and approached, her red eyes glossy with moisture; she joined her brother, hugging against her mother’s knees in a bid for comfort, and Amelia leaned forward, cuddling them both tightly. She could feel the waves of confusion rolling off of them and it pained her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Daddy just got confused, okay? We’ll go talk to him and figure out why he got upset, yeah?” Amelia assured them lightly, carding her fingers through Aster’s hair. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, she intended to talk to him, alright. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She just hoped she could do so in a calm, composed manner. Amelia truly couldn’t remember the last time she had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>angry </span>
  </em>
  <span>at her husband.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She picked her children up with a little difficulty, balancing one on each hip, “You two are getting too big,” she remarked almost forlornly - they were growing up too fast. Or maybe she needed to lift weights. Either way, it was a bit awkward carrying them both when she was used to carrying one while Loki carried the other. Another pang of irritation went through her at the insensitivity Loki showed when he simply left the children with her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Holding the kids close to her body made her shiver, but she ignored the cold permeating through her clothing in favour of carrying the little ones back into the palace and heading straight for her and Loki’s chambers. She became antsy as she passed guards and maids who stared openly at the children even after she had passed, she could feel their eyes burning into her back and she fought the urge to swing around, give them a terse warning glare and ask ‘what do you think </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’re </span>
  </em>
  <span>staring at?’</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instead, she didn’t react to their gawping, and carried on as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred, but Amelia was sure the Asgardians could tell she was in a mood from the very loud thuds of her boots as she walked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When she reached her and Loki’s bedroom, the guards - Svend and Ulfric - faltered at the sight of the children and then opened up the doors to the room, sensibly acting like nothing was out of the norm, and Amelia walked through in a huff, a bit too worked up to remember her manners and thank them for holding the door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The room appeared empty, Amelia noted hesitantly, but upon further inspection, she noticed Loki’s gloves had been thrown haphazardly onto the floor, which meant he was here somewhere - Amelia surmised he was probably in the bathroom. With a sigh, she stood awkwardly in place by the door for a moment, noticing the mystifying looks she was receiving from her children. Aster was still tearful, but had calmed down on the way back when Kari had grabbed and taken hold of her hand in a soothing way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia didn’t want to confront Loki with her kids in her arms if it meant a shouting match could ensue, so she reluctantly looked back to one of the guards, “Excuse me, I need your help.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guard - Svend - nodded and stepped into the room, “Of course, princess. How can I serve you?” He looked piercingly at Amelia’s face with his bright blue eyes, and she could tell that he was trying with every bone in his body not to look at the children. It only served to agitate her even further.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I need you to just watch my children for a minute - five minutes tops,” she mumbled, crossing the room to place her children down on the bed amongst the cushions and soft furs. She dipped down to press a kiss to Kari’s cold forehead, pinching his cheek playfully, drawing out a smile from the boy, and then did the same with Aster. Amelia wiped the girl’s tear-stained cheeks with her thumbs and spoke softly, “Don’t cry, little one. I’ll be back soon with daddy, okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster sniffled, moving to sit closer to her brother, who was quick to hug her. The sight sent a boost of tranquility through Amelia and calmed her just a tad; she stroked her hands through their hair, giving them an assuring smile, and stepped away from the bed. Amelia looked to Svend, who had followed her tentatively and was looking at the children warily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh for God’s sake, they’re not gonna bite.” Amelia grumbled, and Svend immediately straightened, looking bashful and apologetic at once.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, my princess. I would be happy to watch them.” He stood by the bed showing a lot more confidence than before, and Amelia nodded in gratitude. She gave her children a playful little wave before circling around the bed and walking up to the bathroom door, which was thankfully ajar rather than locked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She stepped in, pausing at the sight of Loki standing at the sink with his back to her, saw that his knuckles were white where he clutched the ceramic edges, and slowly closed the door shut behind her.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <b>A few minutes ago...</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki walked fast through the palace halls, his face stony and inscrutable. He ignored anybody who greeted him as he went, managing to remain completely unreadable outwardly, except for the rather aggressive footsteps that echoed down the corridors. The journey back to his and Amelia’s chambers seemed awfully long, but once he made it there, he barked at the guards to open the doors and practically flew through them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tore his gloves off and threw them down carelessly before storming into the bathroom where he slammed the door behind himself. However, the faulty latch was already down and made an angry noise as it hit the locking mechanism and bounced back slightly, leaving the door to hang slightly open.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki didn’t care enough to close the door properly. Once he was in the privacy of the bathroom, he let the mask drop off his face and released a shuddering breath, moving slowly towards the sink to stare at himself in the mirror. His complexion was white as a sheet and his eyes were dark and layered with unshed tears as he tried to choke down his shock and dismay at what he had discovered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He should’ve known. He should’ve</span>
  <em>
    <span> known </span>
  </em>
  <span>that his children were just like him. Forever cursed with deep blue skin, bloody red eyes and a chilling touch; he grit his teeth and shut his eyes tightly as he thought of the realm he had been born into. Cold, desolate, a wasteland of ice and snow, completely devoid of any love. He’d been abandoned as a helpless infant for being nothing more than a runt, and subsequently lied to his whole life because of what he truly was, and it all sickened him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hated it, hated what he was. He wished he had been born into Asgard, at least then he wouldn’t have to look in the mirror knowing that his magic was forever covering up the visage of a hideous, loathsome monster. But now it wasn’t just that, now he had to look upon his children and be reminded that this was something he couldn’t escape from - that there would never be a time where he could pretend he was truly just a prince of Asgard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His heritage was the reason his father would never have allowed him to be king. The reason Odin always favoured Thor. The reason that even now, after so many years, Loki was filled with bitterness whenever he saw his reflection and remembered the man staring back at him was nothing more than a veneer. A disguise put in place to save him the humiliation of showing his true face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And now his children had to suffer with the knowledge that they too were outsiders, different to all the others around them, that they descended from primitive, ugly, savage giants that their very own uncle had once sworn to massacre out of ardent hatred. Loki ran his hands down his face, scrubbing away the tears that had squeezed out, and then grasped handfuls of his hair till it hurt. What would Thor do when he found out?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What would </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>the Asgardians do?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Jotnar were the enemies of Asgard. They were despised across the kingdom, Loki knew that the detestation and fear of Jotuns was still very prevalent throughout the domain, he would be a fool to think otherwise when the realms had been at each other’s throats for many, many years. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The only reason the Asgardians tolerated Loki was because he had played a part in saving them from their bitch of a sister, Hela. But would they so readily accept Jotun half-breeds as their prince and princess when they knew the little ones embodied the visage of everything they hated whenever it snowed?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki clutched the sides of the sink tightly, refraining from using his full strength as he knew he could shatter the ceramic with ease. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Maybe there’s a spell, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he thought, </span>
  <em>
    <span>a spell to hide their Jotun forms forever. </span>
  </em>
  <span>So they didn’t have to look in the mirror and feel the same self-loathing that he felt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But Loki knew there was no such spell. He knew all too well. He had searched for a spell like that ever since he’d learned of his true nature. Both he, Aster and Kari would always transform when faced with biting cold temperatures as part of a defense mechanism implanted in their DNA. It was unchangeable.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki’s shoulders grew even more tense than they already were when he heard the muffled noise of Amelia’s voice from the main room; she sounded stressed - well </span>
  <em>
    <span>of course </span>
  </em>
  <span>she did, she’d just realised that her beloved children shared her husband’s freakish true nature. She was probably revolted and panicking, if Loki had to guess; he knew she had told him years ago before the birth of their children that she would love them no matter what colour they were, but that was then, and this was </span>
  <em>
    <span>now. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had felt the way Amelia had gone completely stiff in his arms when she’d seen them, the way her voice had wavered with dubiety when she’d addressed Kari in hesitation. She must've thought it would never happen - that was why she was so comfortable stating that it </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t matter </span>
  </em>
  <span>before the kids had been born, because she’d been confident they’d look </span>
  <em>
    <span>normal.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door behind him moved slowly in the mirror’s reflection, and Loki forced himself to keep his gaze on his own face, unblinking. Amelia was there to show her displeasure at the development, to beg him to find a way to fix them with his magic, he was sure of it. She closed the door behind herself, ensuring that it closed properly before turning to face him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Loki Odinson.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Her voice was low and outraged, and she called him by his full name, which knocked him off his current plane of reality for just a transient moment; he didn’t think she had ever referred to him in that way before and it was enough to shock him into letting his eyes flicker towards her face fleetingly before once again landing on his own.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She looked </span>
  <em>
    <span>enraged. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She’s mad that her children are contemptible Jotuns, </span>
  </em>
  <span>the little voice in his head told him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong </span>
  </em>
  <span>with you?” Loki could tell Amelia wanted to shout, but she kept her voice hushed - try as she might, she couldn’t keep the undertone of fury out of it. Perhaps she didn’t even want to.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki did not look at her, “I should have known this would happen,” he spoke quietly and acidicly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You should have known it was a possibility, in fact, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>know it was a possibility,” Amelia rebuked, “so why this song and dance again, huh? We’ve been through this already before they were even born, so just </span>
  <em>
    <span>what is your problem?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She sounded like she was close to tears and was trying so desperately hard not to show it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A sour smile pulled at Loki’s lips, “Surely it’s rather obvious what the problem is, or had you failed to notice our children are </span>
  <em>
    <span>blue?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In her anger, Amelia lifted a foot and stomped on the tiled floor - it didn’t have the desired effect of creating a loud bang, offering more of a dull thud instead, so she raised her voice slightly, “I hadn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>failed to notice, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki - and </span>
  <em>
    <span>what of it? </span>
  </em>
  <span>They’re blue, </span>
  <em>
    <span>so fucking what?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She made sure to hiss out the expletive so that nobody outside the room could hear it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki finally turned around to face her, staring at her with disbelief, “So </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>he parroted incredulously, “They’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jotun, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia. This kingdom </span>
  <em>
    <span>thrives </span>
  </em>
  <span>on its hatred for </span>
  <em>
    <span>my kind. </span>
  </em>
  <span>What do you think will happen when all the Asgardians learn of this? How many of them already saw Aster and Kari looking like- </span>
  <em>
    <span>that? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Word travels fast.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Asgardians know what you are, Loki. It’s not some big secret. They treat you with respect, why will it be any different with them?” Amelia pointed out tightly, staring him hard in the face with a resolute gaze.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They’ve never seen my Jotun form! They never had to address it. Out of sight, out of mind! But now that they’ve seen </span>
  <em>
    <span>them-” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He put his hands on either side of his head, grappling with the thought, “Why did you walk them through the palace like </span>
  <em>
    <span>that? </span>
  </em>
  <span>You should’ve stayed in the gardens, hidden them from sight-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will NOT hide my children from the world because they look </span>
  <em>
    <span>different,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia interjected with wrath that would make the Gods quiver in fright. It certainly silenced Loki; he hadn’t expected this side of his wife who was usually so quiet and forbearing and demure. He stared at her, gaze flicking between her glistening eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you love them any less now?” Amelia finally questioned, her voice cracking as she spoke the words.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki’s eyes widened minutely as fresh tears welled up and threatened to fall, but he held them back. He did not love his children any less - that… that was one thing that had not changed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>love them any less, knowing what they are?” Loki turned the question back around on his wife, whose eyebrows furrowed in indignation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What they </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> are my children, and I love them unconditionally. How could you possibly think I would ever feel any differently?” Amelia looked beyond hurt at the implication.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki’s cynical thoughts promptly returned and he paced around the edge of the bathroom, avoiding Amelia’s gaze, “Perhaps you would feel differently if you ever came face to face with one of them giant, ugly brutes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be </span>
  <em>
    <span>absurd, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki’s voice swiftly became ladened with condescension as he looked to his wife with an aggrieved smile, “Oh, what, so you </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>the Frost Giants, is that what you’re saying?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then, somehow, the usually small and reticent Amelia suddenly seemed so intimidating as she stormed towards him and shoved him hard in the chest, catching him off guard and knocking him off balance. He stumbled back, falling onto the steps on the outside of the bath, and looked warily up at his wife, expecting her to slap him round the face with how oddly aggressive she was being.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t give a flying </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck </span>
  </em>
  <span>about the Frost Giants on Jotenheim! They mean nothing to me, do you understand that? </span>
  <em>
    <span>You </span>
  </em>
  <span>matter to me. You and our children, you’re the only Jotuns I care about. So forget for just a damn moment that the Frost Giants exist and focus on what’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>important. Your family.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Her eyes shone and her voice cracked, but she didn’t seem to care as she fought to get her point across.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You- you realise that just because they’re blue with red eyes, it doesn’t make them </span>
  <em>
    <span>evil </span>
  </em>
  <span>or </span>
  <em>
    <span>bloodthirsty! </span>
  </em>
  <span>You have to stop pretending those equate, because they don’t. Get that in your goddamn head, Loki!” She continued to reprimand, her expression now taking on a pleading quality.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki gazed up at her, “I thought you were going to hit me,” he admitted quietly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia’s tears finally dripped down her face and she sniffed miserably and let herself slip down onto his lap, her arms finding their way around him in a firm hug.  “Cause you’re used to fighting your way through your problems instead of talking about them like a normal person,” she mumbled into his hair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki let his head dip onto her shoulder, all the pressure and tenseness of his body turning to exhaustion instead, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Normal,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>he repeated with a sarcastic huff, “I just wanted </span>
  <em>
    <span>them </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know,” Amelia spoke when he trailed off, “You wanted them to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>normal. </span>
  </em>
  <span>But they aren’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>normal </span>
  </em>
  <span>and nothing will change that. But do you know what?” Amelia pulled back, looking at her husband with her tearful red-rimmed eyes, “What’s so great about being normal anyway?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Amelia’s light-hearted attempt at making Loki smile failed to do so, she sighed and pushed a strand of his hair back out of his face, “I know you struggle with this, Loki, but… and </span>
  <em>
    <span>forgive me </span>
  </em>
  <span>if this sounds too insensitive, but you really have to </span>
  <em>
    <span>get over it. </span>
  </em>
  <span>For Aster and Kari’s sakes.” She offered him a small smile but her eyes were tired. Tired of, as she said before, going over the same ‘song and dance’ every time Loki’s self-hatred flared up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re too stuck on what your heritage determines you to be. How many times have you described Jotuns as giant, ugly brutes? That doesn’t automatically pertain to you just because of your biology, does it?” Loki’s self-loathing seemed to deflate at her use of logic, “Are you brutish? You can be a little rough around the edges sometimes but you’re far from savage. Giant? You’re tall, but you’re not </span>
  <em>
    <span>that tall. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Ugly?” She gave him a soft little smile, “Certainly not.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki felt overwhelmed by her words, his emotions rising high as she fought to pull him out of his animosity towards himself. He felt his tears rolling down his cheeks, and immediately Amelia caught them, brushing them aside with her thumbs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let yourself set the standard for what a </span>
  <em>
    <span>good </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jotun is, and teach your children and the rest of this whole kingdom that it’s not something to be ashamed of.” She cupped his face and kissed his forehead, “The way I see it… you can’t hate yourself for being the same thing as your children, because that would mean you have to hate them too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki seemed to flinch at the words, “I don’t hate them… I love them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia smiled, “I know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki’s bit the inside of his lip, and a few stray doubts still managed to seep through despite Amelia’s valiant efforts to knock him out of it, “But… but Aster was scared. She hates it-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She didn’t know what was happening and she was confused, that’s all. She looked to you for assurance,” Amelia’s smile fell suddenly, “Loki, you shouldn’t have walked away from her like that. That was… it was the wrong thing to do, as a parent.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki knew he’d fucked up, and it filled him with disgrace. His lip trembled, and a tiny, tiny part of him still strove to justify his actions, “I didn’t know what to do… I thought it was better to… remove myself from the situation… give myself time to think.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You should’ve seen Aster’s face as you walked away,” Amelia told him gently, “She looked lost. It was a big mistake, Loki.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki lowered his gaze, nodding his head stiffly in acceptance of his blunder, “Am I a bad father?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” Amelia answered at once, she tilted his head up gently, “Look at me. You made one mistake. That doesn’t make you a bad father, especially when you can rectify this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki looked at her, sniffing as he blinked away his tears; he admittedly felt undeserving of the second chance she was offering him - </span>
  <em>
    <span>how many second chances had she given him by now? It had to be in the low hundreds at least - </span>
  </em>
  <span>because to him, the choice he had made seemed unforgivable. The thought of making Aster cry, of walking away from her when she needed him, made him feel horrible.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Loki whispered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not the one you need to apologise to.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had already known that, but it felt appropriate to apologise to his wife regardless; Loki gave Amelia a slow nod, bringing his hand up to wipe over his face. If he was going to see his children, he needed to compose himself first.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I need to wash my face,” he announced, and Amelia nodded, moving to her feet and offering him a hand to help him up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She hugged him again when he rose to his full height, which he returned with gratitude, and then pulled away, brushed her knuckles gently against his cheek, and told him, “It’s going to be okay.” Her tender tone and merciful smile were very persuasive, and Loki drew in a steadying breath.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.” He told her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While he washed his face at the sink, rinsing away any signs of distress or dried tear tracks, Amelia left the room and returned to their children; Loki dried his face with a towel and spent a couple minutes making himself look like he hadn’t lost control of his emotions. He hoped the children hadn’t heard him snapping at their mother.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When he deemed himself presentable, he reached the door, hesitating for just a moment before forcing himself to proceed. He left the bathroom purposefully and took a few steps towards the bed where Amelia was now sitting cross-legged behind the children, </span>
  <em>
    <span>still blue,</span>
  </em>
  <span> who were in the middle of being entertained by the guard, Svend.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The bearded Asgardian man, usually so stoic in his duties, was knelt beside the bed, clutching one of Aster’s stuffed wolf toys in his hand, moving it around as if it was walking across the furs and putting on a deep voice as if playing a character, “I’m hungry! Where’s my dinner? Have you seen my dinner?” he pretended to growl like a wolf, suddenly rushing the toy towards Aster feet, “Are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>my dinner?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster apparently found it hysterical, because her loud, high-pitched giggles filled the air, she practically threw her head back from the hilarity of it all. Kari echoed his sister’s joy and Amelia grinned with them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re very good with kids,” Amelia remarked to Svend, who flashed a smile of his own.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My wife Astrid and I plan to have our own,” he revealed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki watched the scene unfold with incredulity. He had thought the Asgardians would react with sharp repulsion to the sight of blue skin and red eyes, and yet, Svend was playing with the little ones as if nothing was amiss. Had Loki gotten it all wrong? Had he truly just catastrophised the whole thing?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He really, </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>needed to stop making assumptions. He was surprised Amelia hadn’t told him that just yet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki approached the bed, walking into view, and all eyes turned to him. “Thank you, Svend. You may go now,” Loki spoke after clearing his throat, and the guard stood quickly, giving the children and Amelia a brief smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course, my prince.” He gave a short bow of his head and returned to his post outside the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki looked at his children. They were both staring up at him with uncertainty, and he hated that he was the reason they looked at him that way; he felt urged to remedy it at once, and forced a smile onto his face as he knelt at the end of the bed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tentatively reached his hands out for them. “Come here,” he encouraged as gently as he could, knowing that the moment they made contact with his skin, he would begin to transform as well. He knew it had to happen. So that he could show his children they had nothing to fear. And so that he could convince himself of that fact, also.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They crawled towards him without hesitation and Loki felt a burst of warmth within himself, because he hadn’t expected that after walking away from them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki scooped them up, holding them close to himself, and he felt their icy skin against his own; Aster’s hands went to his face, cupping either cheek tenderly, and for him, it immediately spelled forgiveness. Loki smiled at his daughter even as he felt himself begin to transform, and he leaned forward, pressing a long kiss to the side of her head, and then doing the same to Kari. “I’m sorry for leaving you in the garden,” he told them gently, “it won’t happen again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were looking at him with wide eyes now, and Loki knew it was because his pale face had changed to a darkened blue, his green eyes had become red, and they could see the lightly raised markings on his skin. Aster began tracing them with her fingers, and now that Loki saw them closely and clearly, he found that they too bore the same markings on their skin - they were a lot more faint than his own, but they were there, just like his. The realisation made him emotional.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why blue, dada?” Kari repeated his question from earlier with renewed vigour, and Loki looked briefly to Amelia, who nodded in reassurance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because… it’s just who we are,” he told them both, “when the air gets too cold, or when we touch snow, we change,” it felt difficult to acknowledge out loud, he stammered a few times through his explanation, “our skin changes to blue and it’s cool to the touch.” He didn’t know how much of this they were absorbing, if they really understood what he was telling them, but he told it like it was and didn’t overcomplicate it. “Once we’re warm enough, it will change back to what it was before.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster didn’t look afraid anymore. She looked happily up at her father, no fear or upset in her red eyes. Kari looked between his father and his sister, and then to his mother, and extended one accusatory blue finger towards Amelia.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why not mama blue?” His inquiry was all muddled out of order, and Loki chuckled slightly; he understood, of course, what his son was asking, but he didn’t immediately know the right words to explain his answer in a way that wouldn’t confuse the little ones.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia took charge, “Because I’m different. If I touch snow, I just get cold and I need to wear a big fur coat to feel warm again, unlike you three.” She winked at Loki, who felt somewhat floored at her answer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She </span>
  </em>
  <span>was different? Loki had to think about it for a moment. He supposed she was right. Within the parameters of their small family, Amelia was the odd one out here. Not Loki, not the children. And Amelia didn’t seem to mind labelling herself as the ‘different’ one.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, look here, what do you see?” Amelia was holding up a hand-mirror, showing Loki and the children their reflection.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At the sight of himself, Loki’s gaze fell and so did his stomach, an automatic reflex. Seeing himself like that was difficult, and perhaps it always would be.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Three Jotuns,” Loki quietly answered, letting out a slow exhale.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Amelia began gently, “I see a handsome father and his two beautiful children.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki lifted his eyes again, blessed with the sight of Amelia’s winning smile, and he managed one in return. He loved that woman beyond the boundaries of the Nine Realms, even if he didn’t quite understand her attraction to his blue form.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And yet, his children </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span> beautiful just as Amelia had said. Even in their Jotun forms. So maybe he needed to trust her judgement when she called him handsome, maybe he wasn’t as unprepossessing in this form as he had always believed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked at his reflection again, lifting his chin a little higher. He unfurrowed his eyebrows, taking the rigidness out of his expression, softening it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was just him. But blue.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia was right - how could he hate himself when his children were the same as him?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Loki whispered, addressing his children, and they looked up at him curiously, “let's all give mama a hug, shall we?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were happy and keen to do so, quickly jumping up out of his arms and rushing across the bed to all but tackle Amelia, and Loki swiftly followed, crawling over to envelop her in his arms as she yelped in surprise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wh- hey! You- you’re all still </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> cold, you know!” Her words were drowned and barely intelligible amongst her laughter.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello again! Thank you so much for reading! It would really, really help me out if you could please leave a comment and hey, leave a kudos if you haven't already! If you're enjoying this story then I would absolutely love to know! Comments fuel me!</p><p>I'll give you all a hint at what the next chapter holds: magic babies ;)</p><p>Thank you again to all of you, I love seeing your feedback &lt;3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0032"><h2>32. You Remind Me of the Babe</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Two words: Magic babies.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Your comments in the last chapter were absolutely wonderful to read, thank you so much everyone &lt;3</p>
<p>I love these babies with all my heart. I hope you enjoy this chapter ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki lathered Aster’s hair with shampoo as she played with the rubber ducky floating around in the bubble-riddled bathwater; she sat silent and still, perfectly behaved, unlike her brother Kari who found it inexplicably hilarious to keep slapping his hands into the bubbly water, causing it to go everywhere.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kari,” Loki began plainly, “Stop splashing me, this is your’s and your sister’s bath, not mine,” he flickered his gaze to his son, frowning to let him know that he wasn’t in a gaming mood that morning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy had already kicked up a fuss that morning and was just being all around </span>
  <span>difficult </span>
  <span>while Loki changed his diaper, refusing to cooperate as it were, which had resulted in a bit of an unwanted mess. Hence the unscheduled bath, which Kari hadn’t been happy about either. It seemed the boy was in a bit of a mood today, because upon being gently reprimanded by his father, the boy glared back at him and splashed </span>
  <span>even harder, </span>
  <span>shower Loki with sudsy water droplets.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki made a disgruntled noise and grabbed Kari’s arm firmly, “Listen to me, you will </span>
  <span>stop </span>
  <span>splashing me right now, because if not, you will not be getting any dessert after dinner tonight.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aster’s head perked up at the mere mention of dessert and she gave her brother a look that seemed to almost translate to ‘</span>
  <span>are you really gonna risk that?’ </span>
  <span>And if that wasn’t enough, she signed the word ‘stop’, and Loki wondered for a moment whether Kari would actually listen to his sister after disobeying his father.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kari gave Aster a sour look and then pouted up at Loki, “I get out now,” he announced confidently, lifting his arms in request for help to escape the bathtub. Loki pursed his lips and continued to lather Aster’s hair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You will wait until I’ve washed your sister’s hair, and then you can both get out of the bath,” Loki told his son clearly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kari did not find this to be an acceptable answer, because he promptly stood up and tried to climb over the edge of the bath himself, declaring, “I get out </span>
  <span>nowwwww!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey- </span>
  <span>no,” </span>
  <span>Loki grabbed Kari by both arms, stopping the boy’s poor attempt to escape, “you don’t stand up in the bath until it’s time to get out,” he reminded his son sharply, wanting the task of cleaning his children to just be over and done with already so he could hand them off to Amelia and grab some breakfast.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kari whined unabashedly as Loki forced him to sit back down, but otherwise did as he was told this time, the threat of no dessert that afternoon clearly looming in his mind enough that he begrudgingly obeyed the rules of bathtime.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki grabbed the shower head, “Tilt your head back,” he told Aster, and then began to rinse the shampoo from her hair when she did so. She automatically covered her eyes with her hands; Loki always tried his best to avoid accidentally getting water in her eyes, but after the very few times he had failed, she always took matters into her own hands to avoid it now. The small action brought a flicker of amusement to Loki’s face in the sea of frustration Kari had been causing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once Aster’s hair was free of suds, Loki exhaled a breath, thankful </span>
  <span>that </span>
  <span>ordeal was over. Usually Amelia was happy to volunteer to give the kids a bath, but she’d woken up with a bit of a headache, so Loki thoughtfully offered to take on the task, assuming it wouldn’t be such a tribulation. From that day on, he would openly praise Amelia for her ability to bathe these children without any trouble.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>In retrospect, Loki figured he probably should’ve pulled Aster out of the bath first, but Kari’s whinging was getting on his nerves, so he picked Kari out and placed him on the mat, telling him adamantly, </span>
  <span>“Wait there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t until he turned back to reach for Aster that the boy suddenly took off through the open door back in to Loki and Amelia’s bedroom, still dripping wet and covered in bubbles, and Loki almost lost his balance where he was knelt when he lunged to try and grab the child before he trod wet footsteps over the carpet, to no avail. Kari was surprisingly fast for a two-and-a-half year old. Loki bit back an expletive and proceeded to pick Aster out of the bath, quickly wrapping her in a towel as the sound of Amelia yelping in surprise echoed back into the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry,” Loki called from the bathroom, apologising for not having more control over the errant child, and Amelia answered with a light chuckle. She’d been relaxing on the bed waiting for her painkillers to kick in and dull the ache in her head when he had taken the children to be bathed initially.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay. I just wasn’t expecting to be hug-tackled by a wet, naked little boy.” Amelia’s laughter seemed to indicate that she was feeling a bit better, which was good, but if Kari continued to act up that morning, it was likely that headache would come back very quickly. He’d have to have a word with his son about ensuring he was </span>
  <span>dry </span>
  <span>after his bath before sprinting off around the whole room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki sighed when he realised Kari had probably gotten soapy bubbles all over the bedsheets as well. “What are we going to do with your brother?” he asked Aster quietly, a hint of exasperation in his voice as he used the towel to dry her hair. The girl simply gave a shrug, to which Loki snorted. He wrapped her in the towel and then cuddled her tightly, the sound of her giggle easing his frustrations ever so slightly. “Alright, let’s get you two dressed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kari continued to fuel Loki’s frustrations by deciding to eat only the marshmallow pieces from his bowl of Lucky Charms cereal, meeting his father’s gaze challengingly when he was asked to finish all the ‘boring’ pieces too. The boy was dead set on causing mischief that day, and Loki was slowly beginning to understand just how much grief he had caused everybody in the palace when he was just a boy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kari, there’s four spoonfuls left, just eat them. Please.” Loki practically begged the child, “You </span>
  <span>love </span>
  <span>food, why are you being picky today?” Usually Kari would consume anything put in front of him, so Loki didn’t quite know how to convince the child that his cereal was worth eating, even without the colourful bits of pure sugar.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I want colour-wing,” Kari explained, pointing just across the room to the play area, where his colouring book and crayons were scattered across the floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, you want </span>
  <span>colour-wing, </span>
  <span>do you?” Loki responded, squinting carefully at the boy, “Only well-behaved little boys who eat all of their cereal get to do colouring, so you best eat up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kari sat in his high-chair, swinging his legs out of boredom as he looked down at his cereal bowl distastefully. His expression changed and he looked to his father again, face softening, eyebrows rising up, eyes widening and glistening, and he gave his best pout, and murmured in a quiet, pleading voice, “Want colour-wing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki clenched his jaw at the fantastical display of manipulation he was witnessing; if it wasn’t for the fact his own son was trying to guilt him into giving him the colouring book before he’d finished his breakfast, Loki may have been filled with pride. Instead, he made a noise of irritation in the back of his throat and managed </span>
  <span>just barely </span>
  <span>to resist the toddler’s puppy-dog eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stepped forward and moved the cereal bowl front and centre on the high-chair surface, pointing at it meaningfully, “Eat first, colour later.” With that, he turned to Aster, who was sitting patiently in the high-chair adjacent to her brother, miraculously having finished all of her Lucky Charms, and decided to show Kari that good behaviour was rewarded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good girl, Aster,” Loki picked the girl up out of the high-chair, speaking loud and clear to ensure Kari heard, “now that you’ve finished your cereal, what would you like to do?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aster, ever quiet, used the sign language she had learned thus far to communicate her request, with thoughtful gestures she signed the words ‘mum’ and ‘hug’. Loki was filled with pleasant warmth at how sweet his daughter’s wish was, “You want to hug mama?” At Aster’s answering nod, Loki smiled and glanced over to where Amelia was currently relaxing on one of the sofas watching television. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did I hear that right?” Amelia called, head slightly raised after Loki had mentioned her, and she outstretched her arms, “Am I needed for cuddles?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You are indeed,” Loki chuckled, walking over to the lounge area to place Aster in her mother’s awaiting arms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, my sweet little flower,” Amelia sighed happily, wrapping her arms around Aster and holding her lovingly, “have you come to keep mama company? That is tremendously lovely of you, my dear petal,” Amelia’s voice had a melodic, song-like quality to it, the exact tone that Loki loved to cling to even when it wasn’t being spoken to him. He found extreme joy in the sight of Aster sprawled atop her mother’s chest with her arms wrapped tightly around Amelia’s neck, eyes closed with a content smile on her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now, if only Kari could find it in himself to be content like his sister that morning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki turned back to his son, approaching with his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised; the toddler had refused to eat the remainder of his Lucky Charms yet again, and was looking wistfully across the room where his colouring book and crayons were littering the floor. Kari put on another pout as he locked eyes with his father, perhaps hoping he would get his way if he acted cute enough.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ignoring the pleading look from the young boy, Loki picked up the empty bowl on Aster’s high-chair and took it to the kitchen, placing it idly in the dishwasher; he lingered for a few moments, opened up the fridge and pulled out the carton of orange juice. He poured himself a glass and gulped it down, added the glass to the dishwasher, turned back around, and paused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took a few steps towards his son and faltered, finding that the boy had pushed his Lucky Charms aside and was now vigorously colouring a page in his colouring book with a red crayon - the same colouring book that had been discarded on the floor across the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki frowned, looking to where Amelia was now sitting upright on the sofa, quietly singing a nursery rhyme and attempting to style Aster’s hair. “Amelia,” he called slightly irritably, “did you give him his colouring book and crayons after I said he couldn’t have them?” He spoke with a hint of condescension, displeased that his wife would undermine his authority like that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia only managed to look confused, “Um, no? I’m all the way over here?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki gave her a cynical look, “If you didn’t give them to him, who did?” He put his hands on his hips, daring her to lie to him again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia quirked an eyebrow, looking amusedly between Loki and Aster, before giving a slight chuckle, “I think daddy’s losing his marbles, huh?” She tickled her daughter as she said that and Aster squealed with laughter, then she hugged the girl and addressed Loki once again, “I’ve been over here with Aster the whole time, love.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s jaw clenched. She… didn’t appear to be lying.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then how did he get them?” Loki was genuinely confused now, wondering how in the world his son had obtained the items he was forbidden from using until he finished his breakfast. Had one of the Avengers slipped in and out and given the boy what he wanted? Without him noticing? Impossible.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki took the book from his son’s grasp, holding it up as the boy let out a whine of upset. Kari’s eyes immediately began to glisten with unshed tears but Loki pushed for an explanation, knowing they were nothing but crocodile tears, “Who gave you these?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kari looked at him for a moment before shaking his head, which didn’t really tell Loki anything. “Use your words,” Loki told the boy, “How did you get this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy reached for the colouring book with a stretched out arm, making a grabby motion with his fingers, and then proclaimed tentatively, “Book flied.” Loki didn’t know what to make of his son’s response for a few moments.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It… you’re saying it flew? It </span>
  <span>flew</span>
  <span> from the floor?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kari blinked his wide eyes and nodded his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki looked at the colouring book with a frown before glancing over his shoulder at Amelia, who was watching with a curious, interested expression. Aster had fallen silent in her arms and was pointedly staring at her brother. A sudden thought crossed Loki’s mind and he returned his wide-eyed gaze to his son, eyebrows raised in surprise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He dropped the colouring book to the floor, took a step back and said, “Show me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kari frowned, the furrow of his brow looking almost comical when the child’s face was usually so soft and unassuming, but he seemed to relent, and Loki’s theory was abruptly proven correct when the boy waved his fingers, his digits exuding a faint green glow, and the book shifted, lifting itself falteringly off the ground and into the air. It wasn’t a very smooth demonstration of magic, but Kari achieved what he was trying to do - the book levitated towards him and he flailed as he grabbed it, laying it out so that he could immediately begin colouring again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki was floored. He didn’t even notice the huge grin on his own face until he let out an elated chuckle. </span>
  <span>His boy could use magic.</span>
  <span> He had hoped from the day they were born that they would inherit his magical aptitude and here his son was, levitating a book without any prior training, nothing but sheer will and determination driving his ability, and Loki was pleasantly stunned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh my goodness!” Amelia exclaimed, verbalising his thoughts in that moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki grabbed his son under his arms and lifted him from his high chair, “You can do </span>
  <span>magic, </span>
  <span>my son can do magic!” He held the child up, full of absolute pride, his joyful shouts startling Kari into confusion, but the child promptly found the positive attention to be quite wonderful as shown by his shrieking laughter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Amelia, did you see- did you </span>
  <span>see </span>
  <span>what he did?” Loki showered the boy with praise, spinning around in jubilation before pressing a big kiss to Kari’s cheek. Kari reacted adorably, pressing his hands to his dad’s face and kissing him on the nose in return.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I saw!” Amelia laughed, “How did he do that? I thought you said they needed to be </span>
  <span>taught </span>
  <span>to do that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki held his son at arm’s length, staring at him in wondrous amazement, “Some sorcerers are gifted enough to use magic without any formal training…” His smile grew bigger still at the thought of equating his son to a sorcerer, a tiny magic-user in the making; there were so many things he would teach his boy to do, he would pass on the knowledge his mother gave to him and raise Kari to be a skilled spellcaster.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now do colour-wing?” Kari asked hopefully, looking longingly at the crayons, and Loki laughed, his mood improved ten-fold at the new knowledge of what his son could do.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, of course, you can colour now,” Loki proclaimed, grabbing the colouring book and a few of Kari’s crayons so that he could colour in the play-area rather than on the high-chair, “You have earned it.” Kari gave a noise of excited contentment and immediately got to work scribbling on the page once he and his book were placed down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki sat back on the couch and simply stared at the boy, imagining himself teaching his son how to propel objects with force, how to create illusions and how to master the use of cloaking spells - just to name a few things - and it filled him with a renewed sense of delight. He felt beyond proud, all the stresses of that morning had just melted away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, Loki looked back to Amelia and Aster, and he found that his daughter seemed to be even more quiet than usual, if that were possible. Loki wondered then if Aster could also do what Kari did, so he plucked up one of the crayons his son wasn’t using and placed it down on the coffee table, kneeling beside it. Aster watched him carefully from where she sat still in her mother’s lap.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aster, can you move the crayon? With magic? Like this, see-” he levitated the small object with ease at the very subtlest flick of his finger and Aster stared at the little wisps of green that raised the crayon up into mid-air. “Go on, you try.” He let it lower back to the table and then sat back, waiting for Aster to demonstrate what she could do.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aster seemed somewhat excited at the prospect of doing what Loki had just done; she eagerly slipped out of her mother’s lap to the floor, landing on two feet, and came to the edge of the table, observing the crayon for a moment like it held the secrets to the entire universe. Her gaze rose to her daddy’s face and she looked uncertain, but Loki encouraged her with a smile and a slight nod of his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The girl extended her hand as her father had done, and concentrated real hard on the purple crayon, her brow furrowing and her eyes narrowing immensely. That expression on her face looked quite ridiculous, but Loki watched in anticipatory silence, waiting for the object to hover into the air.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The crayon, however, remained stationary. </span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aster pouted, looking up with moisture in her eyes, and gave a few sorry-for-herself whines that tugged at Loki’s heartstrings. Loki forced a smile onto his face, squashing down the tendrils of disappointment that crawled around in his mind - because that wasn’t fair to Aster, he shouldn’t have assumed she would be able to do exactly what her brother had done, after all it wasn’t common for magic-users to be gifted at such a young age prior to any training. But then he found himself wondering if Aster simply did not have any magical potential within her, and that thought disheartened him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>When he imagined himself training his children in the art of magic, he imagined them </span>
  <span>both </span>
  <span>as his students, not just one of them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay,” Loki said anyway, trying to catch Aster before she started crying, “it… it doesn’t matter.” It was the wrong thing to say, because Aster promptly began to weep. She must have sensed the disappointed undertones of Loki’s attempt to assuage her, and it made Loki feel awful. Perhaps he shouldn’t have praised Kari so overwhelmingly in front of Aster before knowing if Aster was capable of the same things.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey! Hey, it’s okay sweetheart,” Amelia sang, pulling Aster back into her lap and awaiting arms, “It’s okay, you’ll figure out how to do it one day, little one,” she soothed, but upon catching Loki’s wavering expression, she faltered slightly. She frowned at Loki when Aster wasn’t looking, and Loki gave a small shrug of uncertainty. Amelia sighed, rubbing Aster’s back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just when the girl was beginning to calm down, Kari’s little voice interjected, “Need purple!” and the crayon on the table zipped through the air to his awaiting hand, flickering with magic tendrils, and the sight renewed Aster’s wailing as a reminder that her brother could do something amazing that she could not.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kari didn’t appear to understand why his sister was crying so hard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aster was eventually calmed when Loki retrieved two small chocolate pudding cups, knowing the girl wouldn’t continue to cry while she was being fed her favourite treat, and by the time she had finished eating the sweet little dessert, the reason for her previous misery seemed to have slipped her mind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki was frustrated with the fact that he had to take Kari aside and ask him not to use magic in front of his sister. It felt wrong to dissuade Kari from taking the steps that would teach him to later hone his skills, but Loki wasn’t sure how else to fix Aster’s tearfulness regarding the subject of magic. He hoped that Kari would listen to him for the time being, and that it was just a temporary fix until Loki thought of something.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>It became more and more clear why his parents had had such a… </span>
  <span>trying time </span>
  <span>raising him and Thor together. Loki had used every single chance he had gotten to get a rise out of his brother with the use of his magic, whether he was using his spell proficiency to agitate Thor and make him jealous, or whether he was using his spells to play pranks on the unsuspecting oaf, he had earned the title of </span>
  <span>The Trickster </span>
  <span>well and truly. Now, Loki understood a little more from his mother’s perspective and how difficult it had been for her to stop him from purposefully harassing his brother.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was lucky that Kari seemed to have a little more tact than Loki himself had at that age; while his son didn’t understand why his flimsy use of magic upset his sister so much, he understood that it </span>
  <span>did, </span>
  <span>and he didn’t want to see his sister upset, so he refrained from showing off, though it was a struggle. Loki could understand the confusion from his son’s perspective.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kari knew that his use of magic brought his father a lot of joy, and thus he wanted to continue to make things levitate, to see his father smile so widely once again, but with the knowledge that it made Aster react the complete opposite way, it was so very difficult for him to make the conscious effort not to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki was convinced that if Aster’s unhappiness wasn’t an element in the equation, Kari’s mischievous side would easily win out and he would use his newfound magic abilities left and right. The child’s bond with his sibling was clearly something that was largely profound. Perhaps it was a twin thing, or perhaps Loki and Amelia had done something right in raising them thus far.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was several days after the magical revelation of Kari’s abilities that Amelia and Loki found themselves sitting in bed one late afternoon with the children in their laps, watching a Disney movie - </span>
  <span>Aladdin</span>
  <span> specifically - to pass the time before dinner. It wasn’t Loki’s preferred way of passing time, but the children loved watching Disney movies and Amelia seemed to enjoy it a lot too. She had mentioned on more than one occasion that she and her brother used to have Disney marathons every so often well into their adult years. Loki didn’t quite understand what all the fuss was about, they were just animated films with lots of colour and catchy music, each with their own positive message or moral lesson, but he dutifully sat and watched them for the sake of his children.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kari loved the song segments, swaying from side to side on Amelia’s lap while she quietly sang every lyric as if she was an Aladdin expert, which she probably was. Hell, Amelia probably knew every lyric to every Disney song, Loki wouldn’t be surprised with how enthusiastically she had claimed she loved every movie.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aster was a little less enthused; she was still watching the movie, but her attention was only partially on it. She sat in Loki’s lap, wrapped in her soft, green blanket, playing idly with a plush toy of a black dragon, looking up to the television only occasionally; it was rather amusing to watch her pet the dragon like it was a living, breathing animal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki looked to Kari with a smile, the boy was trying to sing along despite not knowing the words of the song, which resulted in him making quiet, vague noises that sounded nothing like the melody, but he was clearly having fun doing it. The boy had always had a love of music, perhaps inspired by the many times Amelia would sing to him and his sister throughout the day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Speaking of Amelia, she had begun swaying in time with Kari as she sang, and it was utterly adorable. Loki found more entertainment in watching Amelia as opposed to the movie that was playing on the large screen ahead of them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Prince Ali, handsome as he, Ali Ababwa,”</span>
  <span> she sang quietly so as not to overpower the television volume, </span>
  <span>“That physique! How can I speak? Weak at the knees!”</span>
  <span> Loki quirked an eyebrow at the lyric. Ridiculous. The song implied this cartoon man was some sort of gorgeous sight to behold, but he was two-dimensional and fictional. Loki was both a real prince </span>
  <span>and </span>
  <span>gorgeous, but Amelia never sang songs about him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia continued, seemingly getting more and more into it, </span>
  <span>“He’s got ninety-five white Persian monkeys! And to view them he charges no fee!” </span>
  <span>She moved Kari from side to side in time with the music and the boy giggled along merrily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki didn’t have ninety-five white Persian monkeys, true, but he had so much more to offer. </span>
  <span>What would Amelia ever do with that many monkeys anyway?</span>
  <span> Loki had to stop himself before he got too far into his silly thoughts - was he really becoming oddly jealous of a fictional character? These Disney movies really did drive him crazy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Prince Ali, amorous he, Ali Ababwa! Heard your princess was a sight, lovely to see-AHH!” </span>
  <span>Amelia suddenly shrieked, startling everybody present. She jumped off the bed in a rush, clutching Kari to her chest and shielding his eyes from something, “Lo- Loki, oh my god, big spider- big spider!” She hurriedly motioned back to the bed, and Loki felt his eyes rolling as he searched for the offending arachnid. Amelia was always so terrified by the eight-legged little beasts that somehow managed to get in through the tiniest gaps and find their way to the upper levels of a huge tower, and Loki was always tasked with helping them find their way out - or sending them to their doom, either way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He peered down at the bed and almost sputtered at the sight of what was truly a </span>
  <span>huge </span>
  <span>spider. Absolutely massive, unusually so. Loki slid off the bed, holding Aster away from it in the unlikely-but-possible scenario that the thing might pounce for her, and then tentatively reached for it with the intent to pick it up by one of its long legs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia whimpered as his hand drew closer to it while Kari worriedly repeated “Spider? Where spider?” in a small, frightened voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The moment Loki’s hand came into contact with the unbelievably large arachnid, however, it disappeared in a blitz of green light, and Loki faltered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia gasped and then turned an accusatory glare on her husband, “You! Why did you think now was a good time to do one of your stupid little pranks? In the middle of a Disney movie!? With the kids right here?” She pointed a wagging finger at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki gaped, looking between the spot where the spider-illusion had been and his wife’s face. While he was definitely guilty of creating spidery illusions every now and then to scare his wife - </span>
  <span>the noises she made when she was scared were rather cute </span>
  <span>- he definitely hadn’t done so just then. He </span>
  <span>definitely </span>
  <span>hadn’t. But then, if it wasn’t him, who was it?</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked to the only other magic-user in the room, little Kari who was mumbling nervously in Amelia’s arms as he squirmed, and Loki knew immediately that his son hadn’t been the one to cast the illusion - he was </span>
  <span>terrified </span>
  <span>of spiders just as much as his mother was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It… wasn’t me.” Loki murmured, and Amelia frowned in confusion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whaddya mean?” She asked, staring at him like he had lost his mind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>That’s when a slew of mischievous giggles interrupted them. Loki’s gaze fell to his daughter, whose expression was full of delight as she clutched her plush dragon and blanket and swung her legs excitedly. She looked up to him, searching for approval, her big grin a sight to behold, and Loki felt his heart pumping with elation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Was that you? Did you make the spider appear?” He asked carefully, because he had to be sure. It was possible - if Aster </span>
  <span>did </span>
  <span>have magical potential, she may have seen him pulling the same prank on Amelia in the past and thought to replicate it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>She signed the word </span>
  <span>‘yes’</span>
  <span> with her little fist, and Loki had to fight to contain his joy; he looked to Amelia who seemed to understand in that moment just what had occurred, because her agitated expression quickly turned to surprise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then, because it was only fair, Loki swung Aster around as he had done with Kari, savouring the sweet sound of his daughter’s squealing laughter, and he hugged her tightly, pride swelling in his chest at the knowledge that not one - but </span>
  <span>both </span>
  <span>of his children had inherited his magical prowess. </span>
  <span>Both </span>
  <span>had exhibited natural magical talent at two and a half years old.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was going to teach them so many things. They were going to be powerful sorcerers just like him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m so proud of you, little flower. That was </span>
  <span>amazing,” </span>
  <span>he told the girl, nuzzling his nose against hers. “I’m going to teach you all the spells I know - both of you,” he addressed his son too with twinkling eyes, and Kari - now assuaged with the absence of the spider - clapped his hands happily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aster’s eyes glinted contentedly as she smiled. Loki’s mind was reeling. He was already thinking of what he would teach them first, laying out a mental lesson plan. He would consult his mother’s journals to help him understand the best way to teach magic to a small child as Frigga had written her own experiences with teaching </span>
  <span>him </span>
  <span>her spells and tricks when he was just a child.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>He would start with conjuration - no, illusions. </span>
  <span>No, </span>
  <span>on second thought, perhaps telekinesis would be a good starting point. He would definitely </span>
  <span>not </span>
  <span>teach them invisibility spells, because that was a headache he did </span>
  <span>not </span>
  <span>need. His children already made him nervous on the best of days, he didn’t need them running around undetectable too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were so many things to think about. So many new pathways unlocked. He wanted to begin his teachings immediately, but Amelia would say it was too late in the evening to start now. Loki couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so excited to do something - he would probably struggle to sleep that night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Darling, I’m excited too, but can you please - </span>
  <span>please </span>
  <span>not encourage Aster to make illusions of spiders. I’m begging you,” Amelia pleaded quietly, sitting back down on the bed warily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loki licked his lips, unable to hide the grin on his face, and gave his daughter a subtle wink, “No promises, love.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Kari is definitely gonna grow up to be a theatre kid. Now that these two tots are super-powered, you can only imagine the mischief they might get up to xD</p>
<p>For the next chapter, however, we'll have the Avengers feature a bit cause we all love Tony, Bruce, Nat and Clint. I MAY include some Peter Parker too, I haven't decided just yet, but here's the idea I'm going with: Tony's throwing a lil gala in the tower, there'll be all types of people present. There'll be jealous!Amelia and possessive!Loki, and maaaaaybe some explicit-rated content later in the chapter ;) I'm excited to write it!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0033"><h2>33. What's Mine is Mine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ain't no party like a Tony Stark party.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>First thing is first: EVERYBODY WATCHED THE DISNEY+ LOKI SHOW TRAILER, RIGHT? HOLY SHIT MY BOY IS BACK &lt;3</p><p>Secondly, merry freakin' Christmas!!! This chapter is long as BALLS. I think it's the longest one I've ever written. Don't ask me how I did it, I'm not entirely sure myself! My fingers just kept going and going! I hope you all enjoy this lovely gift from me to you ^_^</p><p>Thirdly, there is sexual content ahead, so be warned!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you think, Amelia? Full battlesuit? Or should I put the horns away?” Loki inquired as he preened before the full-length mirror, delicately arranging the way his hair fell while the large golden-horned helm sat atop his head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia gave a quiet huff of amusement, admiring the way her husband looked in his Asgardian leather armour and cape; it had been a while since she’d seen him wearing the golden horns, the whole ensemble always made him look delectable, but for him to wear it to a gala? It was a bit much, if you asked Amelia. Especially when Loki would rather not have all eyes on him at a Midgardian event.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As much as I love the horns, I don’t think they’re going to be necessary here,” she came up behind him, examined his Asgardian outfit, and then shook her head lightly, “How about your black suit?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki raised an eyebrow, “Really?” He sounded surprised, but transformed his outfit anyway. After a flash of green light, he was suddenly donning his all-black Midgardian suit, something he hadn’t really worn since the early days of their relationship. Amelia bit her lip to hide a cringing smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, you need some colour… try a green dress shirt,” she suggested, “you don’t need to look like a vampire tonight, or like you’re attending a funeral,” her voice held a jesting tone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As you wish, my princess,” Loki responded, sounding very much like he was mocking her for her sudden assertiveness. Amelia only rolled her eyes and watched as another green flash engulfed him for a moment before revealing that his shirt had amended its colour. The green shirt looked good on him, and furthermore Loki’s independent decision to add a golden tie pin to hold the tie flat to his torso was even more lovely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked rather delicious.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perfect,” Amelia nodded her head, pleased with the result.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki looked her over, gazing at Amelia’s usual purple dress, “As beautiful as you look in purple, I think perhaps tonight you should wear my colours.” He waved his hand and Amelia jumped slightly as her dress flickered from purple to green in a flash. And not only that, but the upper part of her dress had a beautiful pattern of gold trim; it was different to what she usually wore - it looked a little more elegant and most of all, it was of course Loki’s colours.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She blushed, checking herself out in the mirror and feeling somewhat bashful over Loki’s show of slight possessiveness. She had requested modification of his outfit, so it was only fair he got to modify hers. They matched now, for the most part. Anybody who knew them personally would see it immediately, but what about those attending the party who did not know - and were not supposed to know - of Amelia’s and Loki’s marriage?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They had already decided they would be subtle, what with all the people set to attend Tony’s gala; there would be journalists, old and new friends of Tony, influential people, people of high political positions and others who held power in their occupations. They had to be careful, because their family had to stay a secret, that was what Loki demanded, and it was what Amelia understood needed to be for the sake of the security and safety of their children, but Amelia found herself intimidated at the thought of all these people scrutinising her and trying to figure out her place.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you think, darling?” Loki prompted after Amelia’s extended silence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia smiled, “I love it,” she told him. She was probably getting anxious over nothing - nobody would figure out they were married just from the similar colour schemes of their clothes. She was making a mountain of a molehill. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good,” Loki smirked, “because I think you look positively stunning.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia sighed contentedly when Loki lifted her chin with one finger and leaned down to capture her lips in a soft kiss. She put her hands on his waist, slipping them below his black suit jacket and getting a little gropey in the process.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki chuckled against her mouth, welcoming her wandering hands and returning the favour; he pulled her closer to him, pressing their bodies together and the sound of rustling fabric filled Amelia’s ears. The prospect of finally getting a night away from the children was clearly making her feel rather frisky, she hoped there would be time after the party for them to have some fun in bed before the night was up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia forced herself to pull away, smiling demurely, cheeks pink at the note of arousal the kiss had sparked. “We should save that for later. Besides, we need to check on the kids before we head down.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmm,” Loki hummed, peering at the pleasant flush of Amelia’s cheeks, “Very well. Let’s go.” As Amelia turned, Loki swatted her ass, prompting her to squeal and squint at him, which he found endlessly amusing. He ushered her out of the room and down the hall to the next door along - the childrens’ nursery, and entered the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mama!” Kari yelled, abandoning his collection of soft toys in favour of rushing over to his mother for a hug. The boy was terribly clingy, always latching onto his mother like a moth to a flame; Loki found himself wondering if Kari would ever grow out of it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked up from his son, eyes scanning across the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Romanoff and Barton had volunteered to babysit the children for the night - well, it was more like they’d asked to watch the children so that they didn’t have to attend the gala, urging that Amelia and Loki go instead. Loki questioned their motives, finding their reluctance to be at Stark’s social gathering </span>
  <em>
    <span>odd </span>
  </em>
  <span>when they were usually content to mingle with guests and find an excuse to drink. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Stark threw his parties every few months, inviting all sorts of individuals, and most of the Avengers - apart from himself and Thor - were always present. Even some of the extended Avengers ‘family’ attended often, like Vision and Wanda Maximoff, T’Challa, and even that annoying Midgardian wizard, Doctor Strange. So why were Romanoff and Barton eager to get away from it this time?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I just want a reason to watch a Disney movie,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Clint had joked, at least Loki assumed he was joking, and Natasha had given him a sardonic smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Truth is, people wonder where you’ve been, always asking about you at these galas, and we’re running out of excuses. It’s best you make an appearance.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Natasha had told him outright.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So the two of them had grown tired of covering for him and had snatched up the opportunity to send him in while getting the chance to spend an evening with the toddlers - all bases covered. Loki figured he would have to make an entrance again eventually; it was suspicious that he had dropped off the map shortly before the children had been born, and that was a whole two and a half-ish years ago. He hadn’t been on missions or made an official appearance as an Avenger since. Thor had been on less and less missions as he balanced his kingly duties on the side, but he had a good excuse. Loki, however, was a mystery to the press, and that wasn’t a good thing when it came to Loki and the people of NY.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whatcha gonna watch, bug?” Amelia asked, trailing her fingers through Kari’s wild hair.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy pointed at the television where the movie was set up and ready to watch and confidently announced, “Booty and Beast!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia gasped, “Beauty and the Beast? Nice! You’re gonna love this one!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari’s big smile was unmatched, he was clearly very excited to watch another Disney movie with his sister, though Aster didn’t look as enthused as her brother; Loki watched her chew on her fingers, looking mildly agitated, and he could guess why. Loki had hardly left her side since the moment she was born, and for them to leave her in the care of others - </span>
  <em>
    <span>Natasha was fine but Clint... ugh</span>
  </em>
  <span> - and Aster was clearly a little worried about it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A little voice interrupted his musings, “Dada look weird.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari had taken that moment to speak up about his father’s choice of wardrobe, and, rather annoyingly, Clint seemed to find this hilarious, because the man’s obnoxious chuckle fluttered through the air.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you. That’s so kind of you to say.” Loki mumbled sarcastically to his son, who remained oblivious to his father’s mocking tone. He supposed if he spent a large portion of his time wearing the finer Asgardian clothes, that was what his son had gotten used to and to see him wearing anything other than his princely attire was jarring, but still, the bluntness of children was something to behold.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster scooted off the recliner where she had been sitting next to Nat and climbed down to the floor, scrambling across the room with her arms crossed over her chest in request of a cuddle. Loki picked her up and almost had the breath knocked out of him when Aster squeezed her arms around his neck and didn’t let go.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll only be downstairs for a few hours, little one,” Loki explained. But then, ‘a few hours’ to a toddler might as well have been ‘a whole week’, the two were both very impatient and couldn’t comprehend the flow of time very well.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia rubbed a hand over Aster’s back comfortingly and confidently assured her, “You’ll have fun with Auntie Nat and Uncle Clint!” Loki fought the urge to roll his eyes - they were not related, and thus not an aunt or uncle to the children, and yet Amelia insisted on calling them that. The children would surely become confused at the sheer number of aunts and uncles they had as they grew older.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster made a soft noise of protest at the back of her throat, and Loki pulled her back and peered at her pouting face. She was definitely putting on a theatrical display - once she settled and started watching the film, Loki was sure she would be fine. But just in case, Loki voiced his thoughts on what her potential worries may have been.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps she’s worried she won’t be able to communicate with you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t see why,” Clint responded, and then surprised everybody but Natasha by signing the words ‘I’m fluent in sign language’ with astonishing clarity.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Loki stated dumbly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I said-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>what you said. How do you know sign language?” Loki asked, a note of irritation in his voice, which was only further fueled when Clint smirked smugly and nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders like it wasn’t a big deal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Aster,” Clint spoke, drawing the girl’s attention. He moved his hands and fingers with expertise, wordlessly asking ‘would you like some chocolate?’</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster reacted as if she was regularly starved, squirming with the need to be placed down on the floor as Clint pulled a packet of chocolate buttons out of his pocket, and then she </span>
  <em>
    <span>zoomed </span>
  </em>
  <span>across the room, desperate for the taste of chocolate. Clint chuckled again, opening the pack up for her, “I have some for you too, Kari,” which immediately summoned the other child. They flocked around him like birds to bird feed, and Loki made sure to give Clint a very dismayed frown. They kids were supposed to be going to bed as soon as the movie was over, and the sugary treat would make it quite a feat to lay them down to sleep, or so they would most likely find out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia didn’t seem as bothered, she smiled brightly and sighed, addressing Natasha, “Are you… one-hundred percent sure you don’t wanna go to the gala?” She always had to make sure, always had to double-check, sometimes even triple-check.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re sure, Amelia,” Nat responded firmly, “Go and have fun.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go get drunk,” Clint added.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia almost sputtered, “We’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>gonna get drunk.” They weren’t even serving Asgardian alcohol, so Loki couldn’t get drunk if he wanted to - or, if he was truly desperate to get drunk, he could drink out Stark’s entire supply of alcohol, but why would he do that?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been to so many of Stark’s galas. You’ve been full-time parents for the past two and a half years, so you two enjoy yourselves, and don’t worry about the kids,” Nat reassured.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They’re in good hands,” said Clint. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tch, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki gave the man a narrow look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Amelia conceded, “If you say so. Now you-” she pointed to Aster, who was happily munching away on chocolate buttons, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“no </span>
  </em>
  <span>making spider illusions to scare people, and you-” she pointed to Kari, equally ravenous for the treat, “no levitating objects into people's faces at high speeds. We don’t want a repeat of last week.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari looked bashful, chocolate smudging his lips, “I sowwy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know, bug, it was an accident.” Amelia smiled crookedly, remembering how her son had inadvertently slammed the television remote into her face when trying to float it over to her with good intentions, and had almost taken her eye out in the process when he sent it through the air just a little too forcefully. Amelia had held her face in her hand in utter silence, both completely taken aback and blinking back tears of pain while Kari had begun crying almost immediately, knowing he had done wrong. Amelia didn’t want the boy to see that he had hurt her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, we should head down then,” Loki said quickly before Kari could start feeling bad again about what he had done. The two of them hurriedly kissed both their children on the forehead and said goodnight in case they weren’t back before the kids went to sleep, and prepared to leave the room, but not before Loki could send Clint a parting glare and speak sternly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If any problems arise, text my phone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You got it,” Nat subtly rolled her eyes, “have fun.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Buh-byeeeeeeeee!” Kari called, while Aster waved her parents off.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they reached the hallway that led to the communal living space - which was currently furnished in a party-like manner - Loki hung back and let Amelia enter the room alone so that nobody would see them entering together. Loki’s intent was to not arouse </span>
  <em>
    <span>any </span>
  </em>
  <span>suspicion or give away any clues that he was linked to Amelia in the slightest, which he assumed wouldn’t be too hard. He would later find out that he was very wrong in that assumption.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia’s first instinct was to head over to the table full of food and pick up a decadent little chocolate-frosted cupcake so that she didn’t immediately look like she’d wandered in and gotten lost. She didn’t want to stand out, so she tried to move with purpose, avoiding making eye contact with anyone lest they struck up a conversation; her plan was to find and hover nearby any one of the Avengers so that she could avoid feeling awkward and looking like she’d attended a lavish party by herself. But at the same time, she had to be careful not to look like she was too familiar with them. This was going to be more difficult than she had first thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While she was carefully and slowly devouring her delicious, rich, chocolatey cupcake, she gazed across the room and took in the sights. There were maybe a couple hundred people present - mostly friends and business partners of Tony, but also quite a few journalists. They were spread across the room save for a bundle near the seating area - Amelia assumed that’s where Tony was sat and people had naturally flocked around him but she couldn’t quite see through all the fancy suits and dresses standing in the way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the other side of the room, Bruce and Steve were entertaining many other people at the pool table, taking turns playing billiards and clearly they were recounting a hilarious story because quite a few of the guests were grinning or laughing as they spoke.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Looking towards the dance floor, Amelia picked out a few familiar faces - Scott Lang, aka Ant-Man, was busting a move and looking entirely unapologetic about it. She also spotted Sam Wilson hanging out near the floor-to-ceiling windows, talking to some unfamiliar faces - these Avengers were people she </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>met briefly but didn’t really spend a lot of time talking to.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The music was definitely the type to inspire dancing, but Amelia didn’t really feel like making a fool of herself in such sophisticated company, she didn’t quite have the confidence that Scott Lang did. There was also a layer of noise from people talking to one another that left the room feeling very lively. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia finished the last bite of her cupcake and quickly sucked chocolate frosting off her thumb and then promptly jumped when a hand tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around, expecting a stranger, but relaxed in pleasant surprise when she recognised Thor standing before her with a grin on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thor!” Amelia exclaimed, forcing herself not to be too loud as to attract any attention, “I didn’t realise you were going to be here!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t realise </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>were going to be here, you usually do not attend these little parties Stark throws,” Thor spoke, and then looked down at her pretty attire, “you look lovely, by the way!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia smiled and looked anxiously over her shoulder to make sure nobody was paying attention to their conversation. They appeared to be in the clear, “Thank you, Thor. Loki colour-coded me today, as you can see,” she gave a gentle laugh, “so, are you here with Inga?” She peered around, searching for the Asgardian woman.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, no. She has been feeling nauseous the past few days-” As he said those words, Amelia’s gaze snapped back to his, her eyes wide and full of assumption.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nauseous? For a few days?” Amelia knew what </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>was symptomatic of.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thor shook his head, laughter bubbling from his throat, “No, she’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>pregnant. She believes she caught something from a patient, so she’s at home resting.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia let out a breath, somewhat disappointed at the news, she would’ve loved to have a little niece or nephew, but Thor and Inga were all about taking their time, “I see, I hope she feels better soon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thor nodded, “Also, we think it’s for the best we don’t allow Midgard to know of our relationship just yet, and the risk would be too great if she had accompanied me here tonight.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, naturally. There’d be a hell of a lot of broken hearts out there if the world found out you were taken,” Amelia snickered. She fully believed the same went for Loki; Amelia had made the mistake of searching Loki’s name on the internet once and she had found some… interesting results. Her husband had a huge following online and was popular among young women - they liked to write… </span>
  <em>
    <span>stories </span>
  </em>
  <span>about themselves meeting Loki, and some of them were shockingly </span>
  <em>
    <span>explicit. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia knew all about the world of fanfiction, she had written a few self-indulgent stories of her own for </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>eyes only when she was a tween about herself and Legolas from Lord of the Rings. But Legolas was a fictional character, and Loki was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>real person. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It was just kinda weird from her perspective, seeing all these crazy X-rated stories about </span>
  <em>
    <span>her husband.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She’d gotten flustered and turned off her iPad after a short while, making sure to never mention it to Loki. What would he </span>
  <em>
    <span>think?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d probably find it funny, actually. He’d probably read some aloud just to make Amelia blush. She could never let him find out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I suppose there would be,” Thor responded, rubbing his fingers through his beard idly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, Amelia saw the movement in her peripheral vision of many people turning their heads, and the noise layer of chit-chat dissipated so that the only sound was that of the music coming from the speakers. Amelia followed their gazes, finding that they were all staring at the entrance of the room where Loki had finally decided to make an entrance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki glanced around, seemingly confused that everybody had stopped talking just to observe him, and Amelia couldn’t blame him - surely humans were past the staring phase by now? Did they stare when Bruce or Steve entered the room? Probably not. Amelia frowned at the people around her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She watched her husband’s gaze pan around the room and then land briefly on her, lingering for just a moment. Amelia couldn’t quite discern from where she stood, but from the specific way he inclined his head, she assumed he had rolled his eyes, which brought a smile to her face. Loki ignored the prying eyes and made his way to the bar to pick up a drink, and after the first couple steps, everybody seemed to move on, returning to their conversations and no longer gazing bug-eyed at her husband.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was rude of everyone,” Amelia murmured as the ambient noise of people talking once again filled the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmm,” Thor agreed, “perhaps they are just surprised to see him. He hasn’t made a public appearance in quite some time. I heard there was speculation that he was dead.” Thor found the misunderstanding incredibly amusing, letting out a roaring chortle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dead?!” Amelia gasped, “Why would people think that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thor shrugged, “From their perspectives, it was like he disappeared off the face of the planet. Even I was surprised that he put his Avenger duties completely on hold for the sake of you and the children,” he made sure to say those last words quietly, worried that the room was full of eavesdroppers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia smiled, glancing back over to the bar. Loki now had a drink in hand and was scanning the room just as she had done moments ago when she arrived. Thor wasn’t the only one who had been surprised with how Loki had allocated his time; Amelia had expected him to return to frequent missions after the kids had turned six months, but he never broached the subject, and Amelia never mentioned it either, because she </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved </span>
  </em>
  <span>that he was always there, and she didn’t want it to change. The only time he was away was when he put ninety minutes aside every day to do some high-intensity workouts in the training room - or the training grounds, if they were in Asgard - just to ensure he stayed physically fit, which was generally super early in the morning before Amelia and the kids awoke, or late at night after the children had gone to sleep. Even then, he wasn’t truly </span>
  <em>
    <span>away </span>
  </em>
  <span>since he was still in the same building.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki really went above and beyond, putting every minute of every day into helping his family flourish, and just pondering on it made Amelia feel dreamy. It was impossible to quantify just how much she loved the father of her children.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You might want to tone down the ogling if you don’t want anybody to know you’re involved with my brother,” Thor leaned down to speak quietly into her ear, and Amelia blushed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oops, are the love hearts visible in my eyes?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thor pretended to scrutinise her for a moment, “Yes. Very much so.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, I’ll stop,” Amelia laughed, “we should probably stop talking now, in case people start to notice and get curious how we know each other.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thor looked apologetic, “Indeed. But rest assured I will come and see you after the party, we can talk more openly then.” He gave her a brilliant smile and a wink.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course! Talk to you later!” Amelia parted with a smile just as radiant, and then turned to face the room, trying to figure out where to wander to next. The crowd around Tony had dispersed just a little, she could see him talking animatedly to the circle, waving his hands as he spoke and decided she could probably get away with slipping into the small group and pretending that she was hanging off the man’s every word like everybody else was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On her way to Tony, however, somebody bumped into her without too much force, but enough for Amelia to take a startled step back. An almost frantic voice sounded, speaking so fast that Amelia struggled to keep up with it, “Oh my god, I’m so sorry Mrs. Avery, I didn’t mean to bump into you like that, are you okay? I wasn’t watching where I was going, I’m so sorry!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia stifled a laugh at the young man’s string of apologies, “Peter, you don’t have to call me Mrs. Avery. Amelia is fine. And don’t worry, I’m good.” Peter Parker relaxed at her assurance, but only fractionally; while Amelia wasn’t close friends with him, she knew him well enough to know that he was generally all over the place at social functions, and the proof was right there before her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was wearing a suit, nothing too fancy, but it definitely helped him to fit in among the sophisticated and wealthy people present, and he probably felt as uncomfortable as he looked in it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, sorry,” he apologised again. It was a good job he hadn’t been moving more quickly or he might have spilled his drink all over Amelia’s dress; he took a hesitant sip of the dark liquid in his glass and Amelia found herself wondering if whatever he was drinking was alcoholic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you old enough to drink?” She scrutinised him with a smile and Peter’s eyes widened, looking immediately guilty.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I- um, it’s just- just a soda,” he blatantly lied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is it? Why are you acting guilty then?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not acting guilty,” Peter vehemently denied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s exactly what a guilty person would say,” Amelia grinned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peter pouted diffidently, “Alright, fine. It’s vodka and coke, and… I turn twenty-one in five days, so I figured it couldn’t be </span>
  <em>
    <span>too </span>
  </em>
  <span>disastrous if I… had a taste.” He was utterly adorable, looking like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar - a look Amelia most often found on Kari’s face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hehe, I see. And do you like it?” Amelia inquired curiously.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I hate it. There’s too much vodka and not enough coke. I should’ve just gotten a plain soda.” Clearly Peter felt too awkward about heading back to the bar and just requesting a non-alcoholic beverage, which was why he was slowly trying to get through his current one.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia snickered, “Alcohol isn’t for everyone. And since you’re still underaged, I’m telling Tony.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Peter’s eyes grew to the size of saucers at Amelia’s words, “No- no, please Mrs. Avery, don’t tell Mr. Stark!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>kidding,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia laughed, assuaging his fears before he became too panic-stricken, and he let out a breath, dramatically putting a hand to his chest over his heart.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you trying to kill me?” he sighed in relief. The movement of his hand near the base of his throat drew Amelia’s attention and she almost choked on her own breath when she noticed the familiar red spandex of his Spider-suit peeking just into view from below his collar. She immediately grabbed at his collar under the guise that she was fixing its presentation and whispered tightly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re wearing </span>
  <em>
    <span>the suit</span>
  </em>
  <span> under this?” She asked incredulously. Why would he wear it to Tony’s party?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh god, oh jeez,” he mumbled, “you saw it? Crap! Do you think anyone else saw it?” His eyes began shooting around the room, checking to see if anybody was staring at him. If anybody found out, he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>toast.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I think it happened just now when you touched your shirt,” Amelia murmured, pulling her hands back after successfully hiding the Spider-Man suit from view. “You ought to be more careful… this would be a bad place for someone to find out exactly who you are.” The amount of journalists present ensured his secret would be out into the world in a heartbeat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for that,” he rubbed the back of his neck, and then took another disgusted sip of his drink.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know you don’t have to drink that if you don’t want to, right?” Amelia remarked, finding his determination to finish it oddly endearing. He shrugged in response. “You didn’t answer my question, by the way. Why </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>you wearing that suit here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well…” Peter began, smiling slightly, “you never know when trouble’s gonna strike, I can’t very well go swinging around to save people without my face covered up. I gotta be ready, you know?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia bit her lip, “Well I hope for everyone’s sake that trouble isn’t gonna strike.” She glanced over her shoulder, quickly searching for her husband’s position. He was talking with a few random people in the centre of the room, pulling out his natural charisma, laying on the charm and probably just telling them what they wanted to hear. At least he was close by in the event that something did happen, but she recalled her birthday almost three years prior when she was kidnapped by aliens and figured that Loki’s proximity didn’t always guarantee complete security.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Anything </span>
  </em>
  <span>could happen. The thought sent a wave of anxiety through Amelia and she frowned - that particular brand of anxiousness wasn’t something she had felt for a couple years now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Everything will probably be fine. I just like to think ahead and ponder all the potential outcomes.” He gave a smile and looked across the room at Loki before tilting his head, “Hey, if you’re here, and Mr. Loki is over there… where are the, uh, little ones?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, they’re up in the nursery watching a movie with Nat and Clint,” Amelia revealed, cautiously making sure nobody was listening in, “they offered to babysit while Loki and I came to the party.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Awesome, I’m gonna go see them! I’ve only ever seen them a few times and I love kids, and they’re so </span>
  <em>
    <span>cute </span>
  </em>
  <span>and I wanna show them my web shooters cause I think they’d find them pretty cool!” He spoke at a million miles per hour, seemingly super excited at the thought of spending time with Kari and Aster, and he quickly gulped down the rest of his beverage, his face twisting in displeasure at the taste. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia stammered briefly, but Peter was gone in an instant, rushing for the exit before she could explain that they were supposed to be going to bed once they finished their movie and could go without the added excitement. She sighed, groaning slightly at being left alone in the middle of the party once again; she was about to ask Peter if the two of them could just stick together for the rest of the evening because it would give them both less of a reason to feel awkward, and since nobody knew Peter’s identity as Spider-Man, Amelia wouldn’t be at risk of being noticed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But she supposed she’d have to figure something else out. She just hoped that this wouldn’t result in her children being awake for half the night because they’d only be sleepy and groggy the next morning.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She took in a breath, straightening up her shoulders and resumed her initial plan of slipping into Tony’s little circle. Amelia grabbed a flute of champagne from the serving tray of a passing waiter, just so she had something for her hands to interact with, and found a way to inconspicuously slide between two people who were too involved with Tony’s words to acknowledge her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tony saw her immediately, of course, and Amelia saw the warmth and greeting reflected in his eyes without him having to say a word, and he quickly continued with what he was explaining. Amelia had no clue what he was in the process of talking about, because she could barely discern his rapid techno-babble speech. She barely picked up on the word ‘propulsion’ and assumed he was talking about the improvements he was making to his newest suit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia sipped her champagne idly, forcing herself to mimic everybody else’s faces as if she knew what the man was talking about, but her attention was drawn easily away when somebody slithered into her peripheral vision, standing opposite her in the circle. Loki. She locked eyes with him, feeling a jolt of gratitude that he was standing close by, but it came with a secondary wave of agitation that she couldn’t stand next to him, lean into his side, put her arm around him or hold his hand like she usually would. She did smile at him though, biting her lip to stifle it just a bit, and she saw the corner of his lip tilt upwards in response.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“-Anyway, I’ll delve further into it at the press conference next week,” Tony finished his technobabble speech and motioned to Loki, “as you can all see, Reindeer Games here has decided to join us, I’m sure you’ve all missed him.” Loki gave Tony a dark look at the mention of his favourite nickname to use while a few of the attendees around the circle chuckled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes. It’s good to be back.” Loki responded, his words absolutely drenched in sarcasm as he gave a sardonic smile to those around him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A lot of us have been wondering where exactly you went. You haven’t made any public appearances in what seems like three years, and Tony here never made many comments on the matter,” one man spoke up from Amelia’s right, his tone only vaguely accusatory and more curious than anything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I do have a life outside of the Avengers,” Loki responded smoothly, “I have mostly been aiding my brother in the expansion of Asgard in Norway. As his chief advisor, I have many tasks that require a large portion of my time.” While it wasn’t exactly a lie, Loki was definitely overplaying the truth - being Thor’s chief advisor wasn’t what took up the most of his time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Say, I for one would </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>to visit Asgard, when are we humans going to be able to travel there and see the sights ourselves?” The man to Amelia’s left interjected, and Amelia realised with chagrin that she had inadvertently put herself between the more vocal, bold guests present. It made her paranoid that people were looking at </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>whenever they looked at </span>
  <em>
    <span>them.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki pursed his lips, eyeing the man coolly, “It’s not a </span>
  <em>
    <span>tourist attraction.</span>
  </em>
  <span> No Midgardians currently have authorisation to enter the kingdom, and I believe it will remain that way for quite some time.” Amelia liked how easily the lie slipped off his tongue, and she preened slightly, taking great pleasure in the fact that she alone was the </span>
  <em>
    <span>only </span>
  </em>
  <span>Midgardian authorised to enter Asgard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sounds kinda discriminatory against humans if you ask me,” the same guy spoke, a cocky smirk on his face that suggested he was just joking around, but Loki appeared unamused by his jest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki coolly took a sip of his whiskey and gave the man a tight response, “My people were forced to watch their entire planet succumb to the eternal flames of Surtur shortly after a sizable chunk of the population was wiped out by the murderous Goddess of Death. Please forgive us for exercising caution.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia glanced slowly around at the faces of those present, they all looked incredibly uncomfortable, and the man who had spoken was staring down into his own drink with an expression that suggested he was rethinking his life. Tony appeared to be regretting inviting Loki to the gala.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I think that makes perfect sense,” said the woman standing to Loki’s right. She wore a glamorous dress, had very expertly applied makeup that made her lips and eyes look bigger, and her shiny blonde locks hung in curls down by her shoulders, “Hopefully your people will be able to establish a profound trust with humanity, and vice versa.” She touched her hand to his forearm briefly, a fleeting gesture that made Amelia vehemently dislike the woman immediately.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki looked vaguely taken aback by the contact but hid it well, eyes flicking rigidly down to his arm and then to the woman’s face - she was smiling in a way that was clearly flirtatious, but the frown on Loki’s face didn’t shift.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He then looked to Amelia, whose jaw was clenched as she glared openly at the brazen woman. Loki’s mouth opened and he paused for only a moment before responding concisely, “Yes. Hopefully.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The proceeding lull in the conversation grew unfortunately awkward, and Amelia was practically begging someone - anyone - to say something in order to return to regular conversation. Her pleas were answered by an elderly man standing near Tony, “I’m curious, is your attendance here an implication that you’re going to return to the Avengers team and take on regular missions again?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia could see that Loki hadn’t expected to be asked that, and although it wasn’t obvious to the rest of the company, Amelia could see that her husband floundered for a few seconds as he thought over his answer, “I am… unsure,” he murmured, eyes zipping subtly to Amelia, “I think… perhaps it will be possible to… balance my time evenly between aiding the Avengers and aiding the kingdom of Asgard.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really? So you </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>rejoining the team soon?” An older woman exclaimed, seemingly excited at the prospect.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki was taken off guard by her enthusiasm and cleared his throat, swirling his whiskey around in the glass, “I… I suppose.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While the other faces around them were filled with pleasant surprise and zeal at the news, Amelia was filled only with anxiety and hurt. She had hoped the issue of Loki resuming his work as an Avenger would be something the two of them could talk over together extensively, not a decision for Loki alone to make, and he seemed to realise his error, because he looked apologetic as his eyes flickered to Amelia’s.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She looked down, frowning at her champagne which she had barely sipped.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>wonderful </span>
  </em>
  <span>news! It will be so good to see you out there again, keeping our world safe!” The annoying woman at Loki’s side fawned, attempting to endear herself to him, she even inched a little closer to him, to which Loki leaned away, “I do hope you will make more </span>
  <em>
    <span>public </span>
  </em>
  <span>appearances in the meantime.” Her laugh bubbled up out of her throat in a way she probably thought was cute. It wasn’t.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We will see,” Loki replied, neither here nor there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia tried to ignore the woman, knowing she had nothing to worry about in terms of Loki and other women, but it didn’t stop the burrowing jealousy at the fact that this lady - some nameless journalist with a pretty face - was able to stand closer to Amelia’s husband than she herself without any consequences.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She considered walking away from the group, but she didn’t really want to be any further away from Loki, and she was curious at what her husband would talk about with these people - namely, whether he would make any other brash decisions in spite of her standing right there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have a question,” the blonde woman spoke, giving his forearm another presumptuous little touch that made Loki want to take a step away from her, “that ring on your finger… am I right in assuming that you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>married?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki, Amelia and Tony all visibly froze while the other people present all stared down at Loki’s hand, their eyes picking out the simple silver band that encircled his ring finger. They couldn’t tell, but on the inside of the ring, Amelia’s name was engraved in Asgardian runes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whoa, I hadn’t even noticed that,” said one voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>married?” Another incredulous sounding person enquired.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who is she? The people of New York would </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>to know!” A journalist cried.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki bit the inside of his cheek furiously, cursing himself for forgetting to remove such a blatant implication of his marital status, and at the same time, Amelia moved her hands to subtly hide her own silver wedding band.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had to think fast before any rumours blossomed, “No,” he answered with swift confidence, “no, it’s just a piece of jewellery, nothing more than that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even though Amelia knew it was for the safety and privacy of their family, it still stung to hear Loki brush the evidence of their union aside like that. Being the incredibly skillful liar that Loki was, everybody promptly believed him, not questioning his words for even a moment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s good to hear,” the blonde woman said shamelessly, endeavouring to instantly turn on the charm, making sure Loki caught sight of her demure smile, “because I would </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>to get to know you a little more… intimately.” This time her hand landed on Loki’s arm and didn’t leave, latching on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was the last straw for Amelia. She forced herself not to crush the champagne glass in her raging grip and quickly stepped away, spinning on her heel and storming away so she could cool off elsewhere.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nobody but Loki and Tony noticed her leaving the group, and Loki stared after her, this time cursing the woman at his side for her immodest behaviour which ended up causing his wife distress. He grabbed the woman’s wrist and pried her hand from his arm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not interested,” he growled, and cared little for the appalled look on the woman’s face - she probably wasn’t the kind of woman who was used to being rejected - and took advantage of Amelia’s unnoticed departure by following after her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tony looked over the mix of confused and scandalised faces of the people before him and forced a smile, “So, who wants to hear a really interesting anecdote about the time I had a whole moon thrown at me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki strode across the room slipping his wedding band into his pocket to avoid any other close calls from other observant humans, intent to rejoin his wife and apologise for the situation that had arisen, but despite his deft weaving throughout the groups of people, one Midgardian approached him daringly and stood in his way, raising his hands to stop Loki in his footsteps.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me, Mr. Loki, can I have a word?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki glared at the man and made to move around him, but the human was all too persistent, quickly scurrying back into his path and keeping him from walking away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t have time for this,” Loki groused.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please, just a moment of your time! I have something I need to say!” The man’s brown eyes looked almost pleading, and Loki frowned, scrutinising the man with irritation and a little bit of curiosity. His hair was black, his skin was brown, he had a moustache and glasses, and he wore a smart, simple suit. His polite disposition didn’t suggest that he was a journalist, which Loki had just about had enough of that day, so who exactly was this man and why did he want so desperately to talk to him?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki peered across the room to where his wife was taking a seat at the bar, and pursed his lips, breathing a sigh out of his nose, “Fine, be quick about it.” His wife’s feelings were more important than appearing courteous to the guests, so Loki tried to hurry the man along.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The human looked happy that he’d been allowed the chance to speak, “Thank you! My name is Calum Collins, I’m a senator and a friend of Tony Stark’s. I’ve actually wanted to meet you for quite some time, but it wasn’t until tonight that I have been afforded the chance. When I heard you were going to be here, I knew it was an event I couldn’t miss!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki inwardly cringed, wondering why this man seemed to be telling him his whole life story when he had just told the man to hurry it up; his eyes kept flicking over to where Amelia sat alone on a barstool, slumped dejectedly on the bar surface.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You see, I owe you, Loki. I am indebted to you, in fact, because you did something for me years ago that I will never forget, and I am thankful everyday that you did what you did,” Calum continued cryptically, “If you hadn’t saved my girl that night, I don’t know what I’d have done…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It began to make sense. Loki had saved somebody this man cared about, and that’s why he was just short of falling to his knees and kissing his toes in gratitude; Loki generally never hung around for too long after rescuing civilians from danger, usually they were in too much shock to thank him, and by the time their astonishment had worn away, he was long gone from their presence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right. Well, you’re very welcome. Now, if you please,” Loki motioned for the man to stand aside and let him pass, but Calum didn’t budge. In fact, the man’s eyes shone with mirth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t remember her, do you? My little girl?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki stifled the urge to roll his eyes, “I save a lot of people, it’s difficult to remember all their faces.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s okay, I understand,” Calum assured, “her name’s Rio, and let me tell you, she wishes she could be in my shoes right now standing in front of you! She idolises you!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki forced a polite smile, “Well, that’s… wonderful.” Part of him wished the man would become offended at the sarcasm in his voice so that he’d walk off and let Loki be on his way, but either the man was entirely oblivious to it, or he just didn’t care.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She tells all the kids at school that you’re her friend! Tells them you saved her and that you like Harry Potter - which </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>was surprised to hear! She honestly never stops talking about you, and I think, I mean - if it’s alright with you - perhaps one day I could… bring her to see you? Just for a short while, just so she can see you again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki gave a half-hearted shrug, his face twisting into an expression mixed with agitation and uncertainty, “I… have a very busy schedule…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Calum looked disappointed, but he tried to hide it, smiling through it with unbridled optimism, “Ah, right, of course. Don’t worry about it, I know you must be busy. Sorry to hold you up, but… thank you again,” the unwavering appreciation in the man’s voice despite Loki’s blatant rudeness gave him pause, and Loki gave the man an odd look as he finally stepped out of the way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki faltered as he passed him, his mission to return to his wife once again delaying as familiarity suddenly struck him. Calum had said his daughter’s name was Rio - Loki </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> recall the name. His eyebrows furrowed as he searched his memories, and then he turned slowly, seeing that Calum was still standing by with a hopeful look on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oranges and lemons?” Loki uttered faintly, the words to an obnoxious song that popped into his head alongside the name.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Calum’s face practically lit up like a Christmas tree, “Say the bells of Saint Clements!” He finished the lyric keenly, grinning from ear to ear, “Yes! That was always her favourite song!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then, despite himself, Loki smiled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do remember.” Rio Collins, the little girl who had been kidnapped by moronic terrorists who demanded a ransom. They’d kept her locked in a room and she had tormented them by singing that song - </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oranges and Lemons</span>
  </em>
  <span> - at full volume, completely fearless in the face of what should’ve been a terrifying situation for a little girl. She’d demanded Loki save her stuffed toy, and he </span>
  <em>
    <span>had. </span>
  </em>
  <span>That was almost five years ago now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had been some time after Amelia had learnt of his true identity. When Loki believed Amelia was done with him and wouldn’t give him another chance at redemption; it had been that very next morning that Stark had revealed Loki’s presence on Earth to the population of Manhattan. Loki had been sure it would not go according to plan, that humanity would vehemently reject him, and yet when the world saw him carrying Rio to safety, they chose to give him another chance. Amelia chose to give him another chance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If it wasn’t for Rio, Loki may never have ended up where he was now - the husband to a gorgeous wife and the father to their two beautiful children.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki was speechless for a few seconds, he momentarily couldn’t seem to contain the joy he felt. “I remember her. Of course. Rio, how could I forget?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Calum looked beyond happy, “Oh, she’s going to be over the moon when I tell her!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How old is she now?” Loki asked, very interested in knowing how the girl was doing now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She’s eleven years old! She’ll be twelve in January!” The man responded with boundless vitality - it was truly no wonder where his daughter had gotten all her optimism and energy from.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wow,” Loki breathed, “it seemed like only yesterday…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They do grow up so fast,” Calum remarked with pride and then chuckled, “they waste no time!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I suppose not,” Loki replied, thinking of his own two children upstairs at that moment watching a movie. He wondered if they too would grow up in a flash; it did often feel like it was only a few weeks ago that they had been born.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked at Calum, feeling an odd sense of understanding with him. They were both fathers who loved their children dearly, and while Loki worried about Kari and Aster’s safety often, he had never experienced the terror of them being taken from him like Calum had.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was then that Loki comprehended the limitless gratitude overflowing from the man. Calum must have thought he would never see his daughter again that night, and perhaps if it wasn’t for Loki, there was a chance that could have become reality.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am… glad to have helped,” Loki told the man earnestly, “and maybe… I could find time to meet her again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Calum looked very affected by his words, and then rather unexpectedly, he grabbed Loki’s upper arms and pulled him into a tight hug. Unsure of how to react, Loki simply froze, letting it happen while praying nobody was looking their way. It didn’t last too long, and Calum pulled back with a glowing expression.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Loki, thank you. For everything. And that would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>tremendous.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Calum finally let him be after that, and Loki watched him walk away. He was so taken aback by everything that had just occurred that he almost forgot where he’d been headed. Loki turned, eyes falling back to his wife at the bar, and his gaze narrowed at the sight of her leaning away from a man sat beside her - a man who was inclined just a little too closely towards her.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <b>A few minutes earlier…</b>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia plonked herself down on a vacant barstool, seething grouchily as she stared at the surface before her. The </span>
  <em>
    <span>nerve </span>
  </em>
  <span>of that woman. The </span>
  <em>
    <span>audacity. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She needed to cool down before she marched back over and confronted the lady, giving the game away in the process. She knew her involvement with Loki had to stay a secret, but she never imagined it would be so </span>
  <em>
    <span>difficult </span>
  </em>
  <span>to keep it under wraps.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki certainly hadn’t helped matters. He just stood there and let the woman flirt with him, why hadn’t he moved away from her or just outright told her to stop? Did he really just enjoy the attention that much?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia growled low in her throat, swirling the very little amount of champagne left in her glass; she shouldn’t have come to the party - Loki should’ve just attended alone and Amelia could’ve remained blissfully unaware of the woman brazenly flirting with him. It put her in a sour mood.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It would probably be best if she just walked out now and rejoined the babies upstairs for the rest of the Disney movie they were watching, then she could grumble to Loki when they slipped into bed later that evening. She became even more crabby when she realised they’d likely miss out on the alone time she had been hoping for; before the party, she had pictured them making passionate love at the end of the night while they still had the chance, but now she was too peevish to see that happening. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Great. </span>
  </em>
  <span>They could’ve taken their sweet time too, instead of rushing through it like they normally had to do, what with the kids being unpredictable with when they needed attention.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just when she was about to slip away and head for the exit, a man sat down right beside her and greeted her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright darlin’? You’re looking rather lonely over ‘ere all by yourself,” his accent was strictly cockney, coming across as brash and garish, and he looked to be in his late thirties. His hair was blond and shaved close to the scalp, his eyes were small and a little squinty, and a very unimpressive, dull blue hue. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia’s mouth fell open as a result of her displeasure at the way he spoke to her; she didn’t like being called ‘darling’ by anybody but her husband, and the way this man was leering at her did not make her feel comfortable or safe in the slightest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She must have taken too long to say anything - which really wasn’t that long - because the man continued to speak, “Have I rendered you speechless? Must be my dashing good looks,” he laughed at his own joke, “the name’s Leon Royce, I’m a journalist for the New York Post, and who may I have the pleasure of talking to today?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>didn’t want to speak to the guy. He gave off all sorts of wrong vibes, and for a while now Amelia had been the type to trust her gut instinct - and her gut instinct said to walk away from the man. </span>
  <em>
    <span>But, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia was also terribly flawed in that she didn’t want to be rude, even when rudeness was warranted, so she bit her tongue and gave the fakest, most forced smile she had ever given.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um. My name is Amelia.” She didn’t give her last name.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Amelia! Ah, what a beautiful name for a beautiful lady!” Leon let his eyes rake over her body, spending extra time dragging over her breasts and legs; Amelia wanted so desperately to slap the man across the face for looking at her like she was a piece of meat. She didn’t respond to his attempt at a compliment and turned her head, hoping the journalist would get the hint.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t get the hint.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So tell me how ya know Tony Stark. You must have a high-end job to be invited to a gala like this.” If that was true, Amelia wanted to know how this man had gotten himself an invitation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m just a friend of his,” she responded dismissively, looking down at her drink instead of at the man’s face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh wow,” he said, and it sort of sounded like he didn’t believe her, as if she was claiming to be his friend just to sound braggy, “you know any of the other Avengers personally then?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia paused, eyes narrowing suspiciously, and then she realised she’d been sucked into a conversation with a man who was clearly looking for a big scoop that would further his career, and that he wasn’t just asking out of his own interest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No. Just Tony.” Amelia answered, not only because she didn’t want to fall victim to the man’s investigative journalism - </span>
  <em>
    <span>or rather, interrogation </span>
  </em>
  <span>- but because implying that she was close with any of the Avengers would be a breach of her safety, especially to somebody who worked for the newspaper.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see,” he paused for a second, “and what’re you doing sitting here all by yourself, love?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia’s hand clenched subtly. The pet name sounded god-awful coming from his mouth, unlike when it was Loki’s voice speaking the term of endearment. Whenever Loki called her ‘love’, it always made Amelia melt, but when this guy referred to her with the word all casually, it made her want to throw up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just taking a break from the crowd, that’s all.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As she spoke, she sensed somebody taking a seat at the barstool to her left; she turned her head and relaxed instantaneously upon seeing that it was Loki. Her comfort levels flew back up and she felt safe and secure knowing he was right there beside her; he gave her a brief look, his eyes communicating what he had to refrain from saying with his mouth. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m sorry. I love you. Is this moron bothering you?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia gave him a smile that said she was fine now that he was there. Her previous exasperation was forgotten for the moment in the light of her husband coming to her rescue. Still, they had to maintain the illusion that they didn’t know each other, so their gazes really didn’t hold for all that long before Amelia’s eyes were back on her empty glass. She chanced a glimpse back to Leon in the hopes that he had lost interest and was no longer paying attention to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Leon was staring guardedly over Amelia’s shoulder at Loki, his eyes full of distrust and suspicion; she really didn’t like that he was looking at her husband with that awful stare. Unfortunately, he noticed she was now looking at him, and took this as an invitation to continue their very much one-sided conversation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You ‘ere with anyone tonight, darlin’?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia swallowed tightly, knowing that Loki </span>
  <em>
    <span>certainly </span>
  </em>
  <span>wouldn’t like the way the journalist was addressing her. He was surely bristling behind her and getting ready to interject should the man start to harass her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She wanted to say that she was here with somebody, because really didn’t trust the man, but if she claimed to be there with somebody, he would most definitely ask who, maybe even ask her to point them out, and then she wouldn’t know what to say, because she wasn’t supposed to have any ties to the Avengers, and she didn’t know anybody beyond that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...No,” Amelia murmured reluctantly, and cringed when Leon brightened at her answer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sooooo,” the man spoke, the syllable drawn out in a way he probably thought was smooth, but was in fact entirely grating, “you got a boyfriend?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia ground her teeth together, “Well, no-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Really?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Leon sounded far too pleased, “Pretty thing like you hasn’t been picked up yet, huh?” He didn’t let Amelia correct him and turned to flag down the bartender, “Oi, mate. Two martinis over here,” he pointed down at the space in front of him and the bartender dipped his head in acknowledgement, preparing to make the drinks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia was infuriated by just how tactless the son of a bitch was. The way he addressed the bartender was disgusting, as if he had the right to order the man around, and he didn’t even say please - plus, the way he assumed he could get Amelia a drink. There was no way she would accept anything from him, least of all a martini.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She grimaced as the drinks were placed in front of Leon and herself, looking down at it with distaste. She shifted uncomfortably, aware that she was squirming. Amelia was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to drink that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anything for you, sir?” The bartender asked Loki.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just a red wine, please.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Coming right up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia much preferred a man with manners, case and point.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, how about you and I head back to my hotel room and get to know each other?” Leon looked like the mouse that got the cheese with his crooked grin, thinking he’d somehow won her over simply because he believed she was single.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia allowed herself to be a little smug, “Oh, I don’t think my partner would appreciate that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a joy to see the satisfaction wash off Leon’s face, and Amelia wondered if Loki was taking a subtle glance over to enjoy the view as well, because it was truly a gratifying sight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hang on, love, you said you didn’t ‘ave a boyfriend!” His tone was accusatory and sharp, and it sent a thrum of anxiety through her. The knowledge that Loki was right beside her was the only thing that kept her calm and composed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t have a boyfriend,” Amelia stated, raising her left hand to show the man her rings. She wore both the silver wedding band and the gold-emerald engagement ring Loki had given her initially, even though it wasn’t customary to wear both, she couldn’t bring herself to remove such a beautiful piece of jewellery, and besides, nothing in Asgardian culture gave any reason for her to take it off, so she used that fact for her benefit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A very unflattering look came over Leon’s face, which wasn’t saying much because every look of his seemed to be unflattering, and his eyes fell to the engagement ring first, “A fiance?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Husband, in fact,” Amelia clarified complacently, “I’m married. Happily.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Leon eyed the rings, bouncing his leg up and down idly as his eyes flickered back and forth between her hand and her face, “Tch. That’s your engagement ring? It ain’t even a diamond, love.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So what?” Amelia responded tightly, ready to defend her husband’s choice in proposal jewellery in a heartbeat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So that’s pretty cheap of him. Why’d you go and say yes to some prick who don’t even know how to buy a proper engagement ring?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia looked down at her hand, stretching her fingers out to admire the emerald placed between petal-like gold; she knew her husband well enough to know he was seething at this man’s nonsense.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Because,” said Amelia, “my husband doesn’t need to compensate for anything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sound of Loki exhaling an amused breath brought Amelia quite a bit of contentment in knowing he approved of the insult. Leon looked visibly affronted, but instead of taking a damn hint, he leaned in closer, giving Amelia a toothy smirk that she hated more than anything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got a big dick,” he felt the need to inform her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t ask,” Amelia responded sternly. Why were so many men just </span>
  <em>
    <span>like this?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d be happy to show it to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I just told you I’m married.” And even if she wasn’t, the answer would still be no.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Leon lowered his voice marginally, “Yeah, well your husband don’t ‘ave to know about it, love.” Loki’s superior ears could definitely still hear the man clear as day over the music and chatter in the large room, despite Leon’s attempt at talking quietly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna have to decline your most </span>
  <em>
    <span>generous </span>
  </em>
  <span>offer,” Amelia sneered sarcastically, not even trying to hide the glower on her face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aw, come on love! I’m a Londoner - American girl’s love and English accent. You really telling me I don’t do it for you? I </span>
  <em>
    <span>will</span>
  </em>
  <span> show you a good time, you might even decide to leave him after we’re done. I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>good!” Leon had leaned in closer, his tone moving over into forceful territory, and Amelia scrambled to veer back so he wasn’t directly in her face, her hand quickly pawing blindly behind her in search of Loki’s arm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her fingertips had barely made contact with his wrist before Loki was on his feet in a heartbeat, positioned between Amelia and the man who was making the mistake of harassing her. Amelia exhaled the terrified breath she had been holding, the tension melting away a bit as her husband jumped to defend her from the creep.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t see Leon’s face now, but she assumed he looked like he was in the process of shitting himself. Loki spoke with surprising calmness that was underlying with deadliness, “She said </span>
  <em>
    <span>no.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There were a few beats of silence, and then Leon spoke, his voice wavering in confidence, “Nobody asked you, mate. Piss off, I’m tryna pull.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The only thing you’ll be pulling is your miniscule cock when you masturbate alone in your hotel room tonight.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia had to clap a hand over her mouth so as not to practically squawk out a hysterical laugh - her husband’s comebacks were legendary. Leon didn’t seem to think Loki’s insult was very funny.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why you </span>
  <em>
    <span>prissy</span>
  </em>
  <span> piece of shit-” Loki cut the man off by giving him a firm shove, pushing him back several paces. Leon only just managed to catch himself and he gawked back at Loki like he’d done the most unforgivable thing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t want to make a scene here. I don’t want to see you within twenty feet of this woman for the rest of the night. Walk away.” Loki spoke, his tone quietly enraged. Amelia did not hear another word from Leon, blissfully, and she subtly peered over her shoulder to see him skulking away with his tail between his legs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a huge relief. Amelia breathed a shuddering sigh - that had been hellish.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki returned to his seat, a comforting hand resting lightly on her upper back in a way that any onlookers could interpret as a friendly consolation - it was the most he could get away with under so many curious eyes. If it wasn’t for the fact that they were surrounded by strangers who knew who he was, he probably would’ve swept her into his arms and held her close.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you alright?” He asked gently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia drew in a steadying breath and nodded tightly, “I’m fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry I didn’t intervene sooner.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, no, it’s fine, I- I appreciate that you let me… stand up for myself. For as long as I could, at least,” she felt a little embarrassed that she had lost her composure rather than putting her foot down and assertively telling the man to go fuck himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You were spectacular, darling.” He took his hand away, figuring that if he let it linger any longer people might start to suspect something, and Amelia gave a small smile at the compliment. She supposed it was quite significant that she had kept it together as long as she had, it certainly showed that her confidence in herself had built back up slowly. Ever since that day Eruk had stolen her away, she had felt like a cowering mess whenever somebody even raised their voice just a little, so for her to react strongly and speak firmly to that son of a bitch - it was good. It was a good thing and Amelia was proud of herself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still, it had pretty much emotionally drained her and she wanted to get away from the noise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna… go back to our room,” Amelia told him quietly, “this party wasn’t as fun as I expected it to be.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki looked at her for a moment, his eyebrows furrowing apologetically, and he nodded his head, “Go relax, I’ll rejoin you soon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia smiled sadly, eyes flicking briefly to his lips, wishing she could kiss him goodnight, and she slipped off the barstool and made her way out of the room, unseen by almost everybody present.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki sighed, staring after her. Up until he watched her walk away just then, he had intended to stay just a little while longer, but the look in her eyes before she left… he just wanted to be with her. Fuck the party, he’d rather make love to his wife.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He swallowed down the remainder of his wine and stood, smoothing out his suit before following after her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Across the room, Leon Royce loitered by his lonesome, eyeing the exit of the room where Amelia had just left moments ago - he was resonating with dark intentions and inflamed by what the Avenger Loki had just said to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The journalist watched said Avenger sneakily follow the woman out just moments behind her, Leon’s thin eyebrows rose up with suspicion and he was filled with the intuitive feeling to shadow them both - because why would Loki pursue that woman out of the room? What was that wicked Asgardian planning? Something was going on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Leon spotted an opportunity. He glanced around briefly before trailing out of the room with the intent to stalk them both.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki caught up with his wife relatively quickly with long strides, he didn’t call out to her, once again not wanting to risk giving away that he knew her by name - while the hallway outside the main room was currently vacant aside from them, there was definitely a chance someone could walk out and see them at any moment, so he did not let his guard down yet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This being the case, Amelia heard footsteps fast approaching her and swung round, startled, clearly nervous that it could have been that damn journalist. She relaxed quickly upon realising it was, in fact, her husband.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Loki, what are you-?” Amelia trailed off when Loki grabbed her upper arm and glanced over his shoulder briefly before pulling open the closest door - which just so happened to lead to a walk-in closet full of cleaning supplies used by the maid staff - and ushered Amelia in, closing it firmly behind them. “Loki?” She questioned in the darkness of the small room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instead of answering her verbally, Loki fumbled for the light switch so that they could see each other clearly, and then he took her face in his hands and gave her a slow, lazy kiss that was welcomed and joyfully reciprocated. Amelia melted into it, sighing as all the tension slowly seeped out of her shoulders and allowed her to relax.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki deepened the kiss and Amelia moaned softly. The sound struck a note of arousal within Loki and he growled low in the back of his throat; it reverberated pleasantly between them and made Amelia shiver.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they parted, they didn’t stray far from each other; Loki pressed his forehead to Amelia’s, his nose brushing against her own as he held her close to him and revelled in the fact that inside this closet, they didn’t have to pretend to be strangers to one another.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you truly alright?” Loki asked, needing to be sure. The man’s harassment had been revolting, and Loki was absolutely going to speak with Stark about this particular guest, he was sure Stark would have the man banned from any future events in a heartbeat once he knew what Amelia had endured.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am now,” she whispered, arms winding around his neck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I should have kicked him out,” Loki murmured, wishing he had done just that. It maddened him to know that sleazy bastard was still in the gala, potentially pestering other women and making them feel uncomfortable.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was for the best that you didn’t make a scene,” Amelia reminded him, “and I shouldn’t have come, I don’t think I like the idea of attending a party with you while not being able to speak to you or even go near you without risking our safety. Let’s not do this again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki pressed an apologetic kiss to her forehead, “Next time we’re in Asgard, we’ll have our own party.” Amelia closed her eyes and smiled gratefully, she was thankful that Asgard was one of the few places they could show as much affection as they wanted without risking anything at all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia’s hands shifted, palms running down the front of Loki’s black jacket, creeping underneath to drag over the material of his green shirt, “I was hoping to get some time alone with you tonight.” She had hoped it would be back in their room, but now she was quite eager to feel Loki’s skin against hers and she didn’t think she could wait.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m all yours, love,” Loki breathed, his deep voice rumbling pleasantly in a way that sent wonderful tingles down Amelia’s spine.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> all mine,” Amelia sighed. She roughly grabbed his tie, the golden pin falling loose and hitting the floor with a quiet ping, and pulled him closer so that her lips could brush against his ear, “So put your </span>
  <em>
    <span>damn </span>
  </em>
  <span>wedding ring back on.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki shuddered and let out a soft chuckle, “As you command.” He was surprised she had noticed he’d taken it off in all the commotion, but she seemed to understand why he’d made the reluctant decision. He wasted no time pulling it out of his pocket and placing it securely back on the corresponding finger.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Much better,” said Amelia, “now come here.” Loki allowed himself to be pulled down and kissed with more force; Amelia could feel the smile on his face as she nipped at his lips, demanding more, and her hands tightened on his hips, showcasing her desire for him to bring her pleasure.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What would you like me to do?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was something that was just wonderfully perfect about Loki asking such a question, because it gave Amelia power knowing he would give her whatever she wanted; Loki peppered kisses from the corner of her mouth down to her jaw, and then nibbled and pecked at her neck, knowing just where each sensitive spot was to make her gasp.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I just want you to- fuck me,” Amelia stammered, and her hand slipped down between his legs, feeling the weight of his cock through the fabric of his pants as it hardened, “-please, now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki groaned and ground his hips forward against Amelia’s hand, basking in the friction, and then with deft fingers, he pulled her dress up to reveal her panties and slipped his fingers below to pull them down her legs. His hands then explored, ghosting over her stomach as he hiked the dress up further and resumed kissing her neck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Loki, </span>
  <em>
    <span>now,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia repeated with a little more force and a lot more desperation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A throaty chuckle escaped him and he obliged, reaching blindly with one hand to unbuckle his belt and unzip his trousers; he worked too slowly with his dexterous fingers and Amelia took over while tilting her head back to give Loki from access to her neck. She pushed down his trousers and underwear, freeing his erection which she took eagerly in her hands and began to stroke.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki grunted as he pumped his hips in time with Amelia’s strokes, finding her keenness to be incredibly arousing. He knew her fervour didn’t just come from the fact that it had been just over a week since their last intimate coupling, it was also born from her jealousy earlier that evening as she witnessed a female guest openly flirting with him, and again just a few minutes prior after having to endure that greasy journalist’s persecution. She craved reassurance in the arms of the man she loved, and Loki was more than willing to give that to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He finally gave her mercy, slipping his hand between her bare legs to run his fingers between her slick folds, and she grew taut immediately as she let free a quiet whimper, gripping and holding his arm in place with her free hand so she could grind against it ardently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, my darling, one would think I haven’t touched you in months,” Loki remarked on her earnest display and she let out a soft noise of embarrassment, dropping her head forward to hide her face against his shoulder, which he found wholeheartedly amusing, but she did not stop seeking out her pleasure against his hand, in fact she only seemed to grow more zealous.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I need you,” her words were muffled against the material of his jacket.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then I won’t draw this out any longer,” Loki promised. She gave a groan of disappointment when he retracted his hand and swatted hers away from his member, but it quickly evolved into an anticipatory gasp when he lifted her against the wall with his strong hands beneath her thighs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lift your dress,” he instructed firmly, and she floundered, pawing at and bunching up the fabric far more than was needed, exposing herself to him completely, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Good, </span>
  </em>
  <span>little dove.” Another noise escaped Amelia - that pet name always had her feeling hot and bothered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki’s hands were occupied keeping Amelia lifted up, but he didn’t have to ask her to help him out - she reached a hand down between them and guided his cock between her folds and into her hole. He slipped in slowly, a breathy moan leaving his throat as her wet heat encompassed him entirely. He bottomed out completely and remained there, still, waiting.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright?” Loki asked her, wanting to make sure he wasn’t hurting her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, yes… yes,” Amelia chanted, almost rasping, her words completely pleasure-addled. Well, that answered that question. She looked positively dizzy with it, her cheeks burning a glorious pink from the stimulation; she was absolutely beautiful, and it seemed she was never going to let him forget that. He saw it every time he looked at her, especially when they were connected like this, seeing Amelia in the throes of ecstasy was his favourite thing to experience. “Go… </span>
  <em>
    <span>go,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she urged him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki did, moving leisurely at first; she tipped her head back, mouth agape, blinking slowly at him with a look in her eyes that suggested she was drunk with pleasure. To see her like this was a privilege that only he knew, that no other would ever know, because Amelia belonged to him, as he did to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mine,” he growled, pecking her on the lips.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Mine,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she responded after a moment with equal intensity.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He increased his pace gradually, taking great rapture in the sounds his wife was making; her long moans and her short, vocal gasps made him weak at the knees, telling him he was doing a damn good job. Usually, Amelia was quite the contributor when it came to sex, she would meet his thrusts by pushing back on his cock, she would run her hands all over his body or kiss every inch of his skin that she could reach, but today she was clearly in the mood to relax and let him do all the work, which Loki was perfectly fine with, because she deserved this, and Loki was content to ler her have this. Plus, he loved watching her luxuriate and take her pleasure from him in this way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She did move her hand to where they were connected and teased his cock with some featherlight touches as it moved in and out of her, before using the pads of her fingers to circle her clit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her flushed face and rosy cheeks were quite the visage. The desire to kiss her arose and thus he did so, not once faltering in the pace of his pumping hips; Amelia’s free hand shot up to curl around the back of his head and tangle in his soft, silky hair, holding him in place and demanding more. She murmured unintelligible words against his lips in between her whimpers and sobs.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki couldn’t figure out exactly what the faint, wobbly words were that were getting squashed between the noises of smacking lips, but he did manage to pick out ‘Loki’ and ‘love you’.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He dipped his head to suck a hickey into the flesh where her neck and shoulder met, and mumbled between gasping breaths, “You still with me, love?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmm! Ye-yeah, I’m good- you’re so good,” she panted, “Loki… I’m glad you’re my husband.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki bit his lip to stifle a grin against her neck, “Is that because I know how to fuck you in just the right way to bring you pleasure?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It- it’s cause… you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything </span>
  </em>
  <span>to me,” Amelia whimpered, “I’m so lucky… to have you. You’re so caring and- and loving, and strong.” Her hand softened in his hair, stroking through his locks lovingly, “And you’re all mine… blows my mind.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki sighed against Amelia’s neck, his hot breath on her skin causing her to shiver, “That is… exactly how I feel about you.” He pulled back to look her in the eyes and his hips almost stuttered at the sheer level of adoration and devotion in her gaze. He kissed her gently, conveying all his emotions with just the simple action.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As he kissed her, Amelia began squirming, her hips now moving to meet his thrusts as much as she could in her restricted position, and her fingers moved more quickly across her clit; she was close. Loki could tell from the way her thighs quivered against his palms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sped up to a steady, hard tempo and it was only moments later that she fell over the edge; the sounds she made were heavily vocal and breathy, but Loki remained confident that nobody would hear them over the music playing in the main room, which was muffled within the closet. He slowed only minutely, giving his wife a few long thrusts to reach all the deep places within her, and she twitched, trying to catch her breath, trembling from the waves of pleasure from her orgasm that rolled through her and brought her an intense contentment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Loki came, it was with a muffled growl as he nibbled the mark he had left on her neck, and he emptied inside her, going still after only a few moments. They remained connected while they recovered; Loki could feel the heat rising from Amelia’s glowing skin and he hummed gently, pressing his cheek to her own.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you alright?” He asked for the third time that day, but she looked utterly exhausted and he felt it was justified.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This time, Amelia gave an open-mouthed smile and blinked tiredly, nodding her head lazily, “So good.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was the face of somebody who was fully satisfied. For a moment they just sunk against each other, breathing hard, allowing the warmth to wash over them and soothe them, replacing every thought and feeling with contentment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki slowly lowered Amelia so she could stand with her own two feet, but he had to hold her up because her knees couldn’t immediately support her, wobbly as they were, but she found her footing shortly after, giggling slightly as she realised what they had just done. Tony would </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>be happy if he ever found out Amelia and Loki had had sex in a cleaning closet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The gratifying moment didn’t last long, because unexpectedly, the handle to the door jiggled and then it completely flew open, revealing the face of journalist Leon Royce. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia almost choked on her gasp, her hands quickly rushing to paw at herself in an attempt to hide, but she found immediately that there was no need, because somehow she was already decent. There was no longer sticky wetness on her thighs and her panties weren’t tangled around one ankle. She was clean and clothed, and so was Loki. The only explanation was that her husband had performed some sort of clean-up spell with the speed only a god could muster the moment he sensed the movement of the door handle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She let out a breath, thankful that her dignity was still intact, and then glared at the man who had interrupted her sweet moment with Loki.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You! I fuckin’ knew you were sketchy!” Leon shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at Loki’s face, “Seducing innocent women for your own gain, I know what you were doin’ in here! You disgust me!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia’s mouth fell open in surprise at the man’s ludicrous thought process, but it was rapidly overshadowed by rage - had he been </span>
  <em>
    <span>listening </span>
  </em>
  <span>to them or something? The thought repulsed her and made her feel sick. Furthermore, she didn’t know why Loki wasn’t completely freaking out at being caught with his arms still around her. He had been so worried about being associated with Amelia, and now here was staring at the man with a stare more dangerous than a blade’s edge, silent and calm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And you, fuckin’ slut!” Leon turned his hollering voice on Amelia, “Won’t cheat on your husband with me, but you will with </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> son of a bitch?” He had the gall to look appalled. “Wait ‘til the world finds out that all Loki does at these high-end parties is fuck bitches in cupboards!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki’s calm facade snapped and he advanced on the journalist, who immediately cowered away like the chicken he was, but Loki grabbed him tightly by the arm and kept him from fleeing; Amelia nervously followed them out of the closet, anxious to see if her husband had any plan on how to resolve this situation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You will </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>refer to her that way, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>vile </span>
  </em>
  <span>human,” Loki hissed, and promptly caught Leon’s fist when the man tried to throw a pitiful punch at his face, “you will tell </span>
  <em>
    <span>nobody</span>
  </em>
  <span> of this encounter,” he said, his voice low and dark, ladened with promises of death.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Like fuck I won’t! I’m telling everybody! Just you fuckin’ wait! You ‘ave no idea the power I hold, I could tell the world you raped this bitch, in fact I </span>
  <em>
    <span>will,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Leon snapped, turning to gaze at Amelia with a look of crazed revenge, “What’s ya husband gonna think of this, darlin’? Finding out you’re fucking the most hated Avenger?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia snapped, rearing back with a strong fist and bringing it square into the centre of Leon’s face with all of her strength; she hit him so hard that he flew out of Loki’s hold and thumped as he hit the floor, screaming like a child as he clutched his definitely broken nose. It was already gushing blood after mere moments, and Loki briefly fixed Amelia with a look of approval.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>asshole!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia snapped, “He </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>my husband!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, you crazy fuckin’ bitch!” Leon cried, squirming as he rolled around on the floor in agony, “Like I’m gonna fuckin’ believe tha-” his eyes caught sight of the matching silver bands on Amelia’s and Loki’s fingers and he promptly swallowed his words, staring up at them both in disbelief. His brain could only assemble one witless word, “What?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia clapped her hand over her mouth, realising she’d just given away a very sensitive piece of information that could potentially bring a lot of harm, her eyes flickered to Loki’s in panic, but he only looked mildly exasperated that she had said those words in a moment of passionate defence. She couldn’t understand why he was so </span>
  <em>
    <span>calm.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t fuckin’... this is… this is fuckin’ </span>
  <em>
    <span>huge.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Leon’s bloody face looked hideous as he grinned like the cat that got the cream, “This is the scoop of a fuckin’ lifetime. Holy shit, I’m gonna be </span>
  <em>
    <span>rich </span>
  </em>
  <span>once I expose this!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia ground her teeth together in immediate panic, floundering in place as she tried to think of something. Maybe nobody would believe him - maybe Leon’s article would get lost in the pages of the newspaper and assumed to be the ridiculous lies of a reporter hoping to cause mayhem. Or maybe he would be believed, and the Tower would be swarmed with reporters waiting for Tony to give a comment on the matter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You aren’t going to tell anybody,” Loki repeated with startling confidence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go fuck yourself, you prick!” Leon hissed, and then quickly scurried to his feet while simultaneously nursing his broken nose. He didn’t get far, because Loki once again grabbed him and spun him round, shoving him up against the wall and holding him up with one hand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia watched apprehensively. What was Loki going to do or say to ensure Leon didn’t reveal their secret to the world?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the- get the fuck off me you-” Loki pressed his free hand to Leon’s forehead, his fingertips alight with green tendrils of magic, and Leon went immediately slack in his grip. The man’s wide eyes looked dazed, and his eyelids slowly fell like he was immeasurably tired.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia watched cluelessly for a few moments until Loki retracted his hand and stepped away; Leon half collapsed against the wall, brushing his crooked, bloody nose with his hand and wincing in pain. “Wha… what happened? My nose? Ugh…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You ran into a door,” Loki told the man, “you should watch where you’re going next time. Now leave - wouldn’t want anybody seeing you in that state, would you?” He pointed down the hall towards the elevator that would take Leon back down to the exit of the building. The journalist looked ghastly and confused, looking between Loki and Amelia with a distinct lack of hostility that had been there just a moment ago, and then he shockingly did as he was told, following the hallway down towards the elevator.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia stared, her mouth agape. “You’re just gonna… let him go?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki watched the journalist stumble away with abhorrence, “Trust me, I’d love to break his fingers one by one and listen to him scream, but Stark would give me an earful. It’s not necessary now anyway,” he looked back at Amelia, gazing at her up and down, “I’m sorry, I should’ve been more attentive… I did not realise he had followed us out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia still didn’t understand why Loki had just let him go. She hugged herself nervously, shifting her weight from foot to foot; her cheeks were still rosy from what they had done together in the closet but the satisfaction had worn off the moment Leon had thrown the door open.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But… but you </span>
  <em>
    <span>let him go. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Don’t you think he’ll tell the papers what he saw?” Amelia stammered, clearly upset.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki’s face softened, “No, he won’t. Trust me.” With that, he walked past Amelia and pressed the ‘call elevator’ button to take them to their floor. Amelia glanced back down the now-empty hallway, visibly discomposed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Loki… what did you do to him?” Amelia asked tentatively. Loki’s assurance that everything was fine had her demanding some sort of explanation, because she was beyond confused at what she had seen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The elevator doors opened, and Loki ushered Amelia in with a hand at the small of her back; he hit the button for their floor and faced the doors as the lift began to move - he didn’t look his wife in the eyes as he answered her question, “I erased his memory.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia’s eyes widened and she blinked a few times fast, “You… what?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I manipulated the area of his brain that stores memories. He will not remember what he just saw, nor will he remember the encounter with you earlier when he harassed you. Do not worry, our secret is still safe.” He explained himself plainly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia frowned, lips parted, “You can… do that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki finally looked at her, his eyes searching hers, “The magic is complex, but the human brain is not. I have long since mastered the spell.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A look of concern passed over Amelia’s features and her eyebrows furrowed slightly, “Loki, isn’t that… isn’t that like… evil magic?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dark magic,” Loki quickly corrected her, “It’s not evil.” He sounded defensive, and under the intense, drawn out look from his wife, he grew somewhat tense. “I had no choice but to use that invasive magic. It was not for wicked intent, it was to keep you and the children safe.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I understand that,” said Amelia. She wasn’t sympathising with that journalist bastard in the slightest, there was just something else bothering her, “but will there be… repercussions? For using that magic? It’s the kind of magic from that restricted book that went missing ages ago, right?” It had always stuck in her mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There will be no repercussions so long as it remains between us.” That was Loki’s nice way of saying ‘so keep your mouth shut and don’t tell Thor’. Amelia sighed, a troubled feeling worming its way into her head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A silence fell between them, and Amelia yearned to break it. “You, ah, ever use that magic on me? Erasing my memories?” She questioned with an entirely jesting tone, but Loki didn’t laugh. He didn’t say anything. “Loki?” A hint of alarm seeped into her voice as she spoke his name tersely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki looked at her with a frown, examining her face for a few moments. When he spoke, his voice was quiet, “Sometimes when you sleep, you have nightmares. You toss and turn, and it always wakes me up,” he told her softly, “and I can’t stand to hear you cry out in distress, so sometimes… </span>
  <em>
    <span>every </span>
  </em>
  <span>time, I use my magic to just… take the nightmares away.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The admittance was incredibly wholesome, Amelia hadn’t been expecting it at all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I erase the nightmares from your mind, replace them with something… nice, if I can.” He sounded apologetic for some reason, “I know, I should have told you a while ago…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, darling…” Amelia murmured, pulling him into an embrace, “that’s… so sweet, Loki. Thank you.” She had wondered from time to time and never understood why she never had nightmares anymore. Now she realised that she </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and Loki simply took her memories of those dreams away so that they could not plague her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki relaxed, glad that Amelia was not angry in any way. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ding of the elevator signalled that they’d reached their floor and they stepped down, Loki took his wife’s hand in his own as they made their way back to the nursery. Amelia smiled, squeezing Loki’s hand back before suddenly faltering as she remembered something that popped into her mind from earlier. She came to a stop short of the room and Loki glanced back at her with a furrowed brow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia sighed, “Loki, did you mean what you said earlier? When you told those people huddled around Tony that you were gonna start taking on missions again?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki frowned, seeing the torn look on his wife’s face, “I fear that my continued absence might make people suspicious of me. I don’t want anybody to try and look into why I’ve not been present for my duties as an Avenger.” His eyes flickered away briefly as he tried to think of a way to calm Amelia’s nerves, “If I were to take missions again, they would not be frequent. I would not be gone all the time,” he assured her, “I wouldn’t let that happen.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia could tell Loki’s priorities were that of his family, and that he felt so strongly about being there for Aster and Kari when they needed him. Maybe Amelia could handle being alone with the kids a few times a month while Loki kicked ass and saved people. She gave a hesitant smile and nodded her head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki cupped her face and kissed her softly, brushing his thumb along her cheek with an abundance of tenderness. “I love you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I love you too,” Amelia murmured, taking a moment to appreciate Loki’s small displays of affection. “Hey… what time is it, by the way?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki checked his phone, “We were only downstairs for an hour and a half.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you serious? It feels like we spent hours down there. I wonder how the kids have gotten on…” Amelia tilted her head, eyeing the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki smiled and motioned the door for her to enter first, which she did; she placed her hand on the scanner and the room promptly opened, and the sight that greeted them was… chaotic.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, hi guys!” Peter Parker exclaimed where he was hanging upside down from the ceiling in his Spider-Man suit, sans the mask. He seemed super chill about his current position, like it took no effort at all to hold himself there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The children were, of course, wide awake. Aster was running around in circles below where Peter was hanging, giggling and playing some sort of improvised game of peek-a-boo, and Kari was climbing along the many strands of webbing dotted throughout the room. It looked like Peter had created a jungle-gym out of the fluid from his web shooters, and Kari was hanging precariously from them at a very high altitude. Amelia would’ve freaked out if it weren’t for the fact that Clint was following him along his climbing route, ready to catch him if he were to fall, but it looked like Kari was doing a good job of staying steady.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The movie was paused and forgotten on the television screen behind them, and Natasha sat on the recliner, watching the scene unfold with amusement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The children are supposed to be asleep,” said Loki, putting on a more grave tone than was necessary.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry Mr. Loki, Aster was showing me how she can use her magic to make spiders appear, which is </span>
  <em>
    <span>amazing, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but Kari wasn’t a big fan, so I was trying to teach him that spiders aren’t that scary, though I don’t think he believed me. Anyway, I showed them my web shooters and they think they’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>super cool, </span>
  </em>
  <span>so I shot them across the room and guess what? Turns out Kari is an </span>
  <em>
    <span>expert </span>
  </em>
  <span>climber! He could totally be my little Spider-Apprentice! If he wasn’t afraid of spiders, that is…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh jeez,” Amelia murmured, knowing the kids wouldn’t get to sleep so easily that night after all the excitement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed, “When did you even get here?” he asked Peter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Amelia said I could come say hi!” Peter dropped from the ceiling, feet planting onto the ground so that he was the right way up, and he picked up Aster who squealed in excitement, clearly overjoyed with Peter’s presence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh she did, did she?” Loki questioned, turning to his wife with an accusatory eye.</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>Amelia’s jaw fell open at Peter’s claim, and she pouted at her husband who definitely wouldn’t believe her if she told him that she </span><em><span>definitely</span></em> <em><span>didn’t </span></em><span>tell Peter he could come and say hi. The hyperactive Spider-Man hadn’t even waited for her response before zipping off up here to interrupt the childrens’ movie. Then again, she probably wouldn’t have had it in her to deny Peter his request - he could be very inadvertently persuasive with his large, youthful eyes.</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh well. Amelia supposed he could probably stay for a little while longer; he seemed to know exactly how to keep the kids happy, and that meant she could relax after the long evening she’d had.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you all enjoyed this looooooooong chapter! You know what would be a great Christmas present from you to me? If you left a comment ;) I would appreciate it so much! &lt;3</p><p>I wanna tell y'all that Leon Royce is based entirely on a real person who I know, and guys, I didn't exaggerate, he IS that bad. </p><p>It's a very stressful time of year, I hope everybody here is doing well. At least we have the Loki show to look forward to in May of next year! It's closer than it seems. Dang I have seriously missed my Loki content. &lt;3 I'm so so so excited to see what the Disney+ show will bring :3</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0034"><h2>34. Down With the Sickness</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Loki comes down with something.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Ahhh, it's been almost a month. Thank you all so much for your patience &lt;3 I struggled through this chapter because my anxiety has been sucky again but I'm definitely doing better than I was a couple weeks ago. </p>
<p>I hope you all had a good new year! And I hope you all enjoy this chapter! ^_^</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki started taking missions again a couple weeks after the twins’ third birthday.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia was not thrilled with the development, but she couldn’t fault Loki for doing what was essentially his job, and she reminded herself that her family lived in Avengers Tower rent-free and Tony hadn’t demanded anything of them for the past three years, so Amelia held in her protests and bid Loki farewell the first time he left. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The few missions he took over the course of the next month never lasted more than twenty-four hours. When the children asked where daddy was, Amelia told them that he was working and that he would be back home soon; despite the fact they were a little downhearted at his absence - Aster especially - they got over it rather quickly when Amelia set them down to watch a Disney movie to pass the time. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>By the time the credits rolled, the kids were ready to play with their toys and their curiosity about their missing dada had faded, thankfully.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki had thankfully returned mid-afternoon, a little scuffed and sweaty from what must have been a hearty ass-kicking session; although the children were happy to see him and desperate for cuddles, he only greeted them briefly before disappearing again to take a quick shower and refused to cuddle them until he was clean. Amelia assumed his reasoning for this was that he didn’t want to run the risk of his children seeing dried blood on his clothing, because it would likely prompt some interesting questions from the three year olds.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Once Loki was refreshed and changed from his leather armour into his more casual Asgardian clothing, he returned and spent the rest of the afternoon by the childrens’ side; after the first time, Amelia was a lot more reassured seeing that Loki was straight back to </span>
  <em>
    <span>dad mode </span>
  </em>
  <span>upon returning home. She had feared that there would be a period of time after his return in which he was disconnected and needed to get back into his fatherly role, but her worries were needless, Loki switched seamlessly from </span>
  <em>
    <span>fighting badass </span>
  </em>
  <span>to </span>
  <em>
    <span>loving dad.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki sat down and the kids clambered onto his lap, happy to be close to him, neither of them questioned where he had been or why he had gone, all was well.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The second time Loki left was mid-afternoon, he was called away rather urgently at Tony’s request; Amelia was not made aware of the sort of mission her husband was leaving to undertake but she assumed somebody’s life must have been in immediate danger. Seeing as Loki didn’t have time to really bid the children farewell, they were confused by his disappearance and more inquisitive than the last time.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Where’s dada gone?” Kari asked shortly after Loki had rushed out of the door.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s had to go to work,” Amelia explained, and upon seeing Aster sign a few words inquiring when their dada would be back, she sighed sadly and told them, “I don’t think he’ll be back until tomorrow.” At the very least, he probably wouldn’t be back before the children went to bed, and Amelia felt even more upset when Aster’s lips trembled. Loki was very much missed when he wasn’t present, and not just by the children.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia was a worrier by nature, and she always felt the irrational fear that something was going to happen to Loki while he was away - it was ridiculous when she thought about it, because Loki was so powerful that he could overcome almost anything and there was no chance a bunch of humans could do much damage to him. He was practically invincible.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Or so he had led Amelia to believe.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was around the fifth time Loki was called away on a mission that Amelia’s worries ended up being more than an overreaction.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It had been a tiny, insignificant thing that Amelia had noticed that day - when Loki had gotten up that morning, he had stood as he got out of bed and then sat back down quickly like he’d gotten dizzy and needed a moment to recover. When Amelia had concernedly asked if he was alright, Loki assured her that he was perfectly fine, but offered no explanation for the odd moment of unsteadiness.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki set off on the mission once again in the late afternoon and didn’t return till early the next morning, around two o’clock. Amelia was woken from her restless slumber by a jostling noise and startled up into a sitting position, quickly locating the source of the noise - Loki had entered the bedroom, but something was off, so unusual that even Amelia could tell in her sleep-addled state. She fumbled to hit the lightswitch of the bedside lamp and peered up at Loki, squinting through the sudden brightness, and frowned at the pained look on his face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Babe?” Amelia murmured, “Are you okay?” She was happy to see him back, but something about him didn’t seem right. He wasn’t wearing the armour he’d left in, his clothing was that of his Asgardian linens, and he was moving slowly with uncertain steps.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine,” he replied stiffly, making his way gradually around the bed, but despite his claim he winced as he lowered himself to sit on his side of the mattress, and that brought Amelia more to the edge of wakefulness. She shuffled abruptly across the bed, laying a hand on Loki’s arm and gave him a worried, quizzical stare.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t seem fine,” she murmured, and then double-checked the digital clock beside the bed, “and you’re back pretty early…” She hadn’t expected him to return until a more reasonable time in the morning, when the sun had risen.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki seemed to hesitate and then he sighed, “Stark and Barton are continuing with the mission, but it got cut short for me, because I… I got shot. Twice.” He sounded oddly mortified at the admission, but upon processing what he had said, Amelia’s heart almost leapt out of her chest.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Shot?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia squeaked, her hands growing shaky at the thought, “I- I don’t understand. How did this happen?” The realisation that her husband was in pain because he had been </span>
  <em>
    <span>shot </span>
  </em>
  <span>pulled uncomfortably in her chest and she bit her lip to try and control herself.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki glanced down at his hands, eyebrows furrowing briefly, “I’ll be fine, Amelia. Don’t worry. Romanoff accompanied me back and Banner saw to my injuries. There were no exit wounds, Banner removed the bullets and stitched and bandaged me up. Easy clean-up.” He tried to make it sound casual, like it was no big deal, but Amelia’s fears were not allayed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“But, you- you’re in pain? You’re hurting?” She asked gently, rubbing her hand gently over his back in a comforting manner.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The enemy got lucky. I would have dealt with them, but I was… distracted,” he clenched his fists and Amelia couldn’t ignore the tentativeness with which he spoke, “-two bullets, ridiculous. To think a mortal got the better of me.” It was exceedingly rare that Loki was caught off guard by anybody; for a human to be able to hurt Loki before he had the chance to react, it was abnormal, and Amelia couldn’t help but think there was something Loki wasn’t telling her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well- how long will it take for your injuries to heal? Shouldn’t you still be in the infirmary, just in case? Where are your wounds?” Her quickfire questions garnered a weary look from her husband.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“One in my arm-” he indicated his right arm, pointing just above the crook of his elbow, “and one in my abdomen, thankfully missing any important organs - the human had awful aim. The pain should be manageable by morning, and I should be completely healed within the week. And no, there is no way I would choose to stay in an infirmary bed, they’re so </span>
  <em>
    <span>uncomfortable. </span>
  </em>
  <span>I simply wished to rest in my own bed beside my wife.” He tilted his head back, wordlessly asking for a kiss, but Amelia was too perturbed by the whole situation to put all her heart into it. She pecked him on the lips and cradled his cheek in one hand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you need anything, love?” Amelia asked softly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I just need to rest,” Loki assured her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t ask her to help him lie down, but Amelia jumped up to assist him nonetheless. She peeled the duvet cover back and supported him so that he didn’t lie down too quickly and hurt himself; Loki rolled his eyes slightly as she fussed over him, but Amelia could see the pain in his eyes and the agony in every flinch and wince, and she concluded that he was desperately trying to hide his discomfort from her so as not to worry her. It wasn’t working.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure you don’t need anything else?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s furrowed brow softened and his mouth curled into a very slight smile, “Love…” he spoke gently, a hint of exasperation in his tone, and shook his head, “I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine. </span>
  </em>
  <span>You won’t even be able to tell that anything was wrong come morning, I swear.” He seemed confident that he would be in better condition come morning, and Amelia hoped he was correct and that he wasn’t overestimating his body’s natural healing speed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Either way, she wasn’t sure how she was going to explain to the children that they had to be gentle with their dada instead of climbing all over him like they usually tended to do.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia didn’t sleep well for the rest of the night, too worried about her husband’s physical condition. She spent a lot of time cuddled up to his uninjured arm, softly stroking her hand over his skin, while Loki seemed to sleep like a baby, which Amelia hoped meant his body was taking the necessary steps to recover.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She eventually fell asleep around four o’clock, but the sleep was light and disconnected and not at all restful.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia was woken up by the sounds of Aster and Kari whining and fussing through the baby monitor, as was normal for most days. She let out a yawn and stretched slightly before sitting upright and then promptly remembered what had happened last night; she turned her worried gaze on Loki, who she expected to be in the process of blinking his eyes awake, but no - he was still fast asleep, his chest rising and falling at a relaxed rate.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was odd, because Loki was perhaps the lightest sleeper in the world. He would ordinarily be awake at the first sign of wakefulness from the children over the monitor, and if not that, he would definitely be woken by Amelia shifting beside him. Amelia didn’t remember a time where he ever slept so soundly that movement in the bed didn’t wake him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia bit her lip gently, mulling over her concern for him. Eventually, she leaned forward and placed her hand on his good arm, giving him a slight shake, “Loki? Love?” Still, he slept, his state of restfulness unchanged by her attempt to disturb it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Perhaps she shouldn’t have been </span>
  <em>
    <span>trying </span>
  </em>
  <span>to disturb it. Amelia pulled her hand back, frowning at her choice to try and wake him - he’d been shot, after all, he probably </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed </span>
  </em>
  <span>all the rest he could achieve. It wasn’t fair that she would try to deprive him of that, so she decided to just let him be until he woke naturally. It made sense that his body would require more sleep while it kickstarted its advanced healing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She slipped out of bed as quietly as she could, determined not to shuffle too loudly and end up waking him anyway, and slid into her slippers and dressing gown before leaving the room to see to the children.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Despite her nerves, she put on a brave face and entered the nursery with a bright smile, delighted to be greeted by happy faces when the kids made eye contact with her, “Hello my little sweethearts, did you both sleep well?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari was practically climbing the bars of his cot, a sight that made Amelia certain that they would very soon have to transition to regular beds; she went to him first out of habit - Loki always went to Aster simultaneously, but since he wasn’t there, she was looking rather confused at the break in routine. Her eyes were on the door as Amelia lifted Kari and placed him on two feet.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Before Amelia could begin to explain, Aster was already signing the question “Where’s dada?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She gave a sad smile as she picked Aster out of her cot and placed her down by her brother, “Dada’s just a bit tired today because he got back home very late, so he’s gonna sleep a bit longer and join us later, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster nodded her head in acceptance and Amelia got them ready for the day ahead. She helped them out of their cute, cosy onesies and dressed them warmly, but they didn’t make it easy because they refused to stay in one place and were adamant about playing with their toys rather than getting changed. It would’ve been easier with Loki because he wasn’t afraid to speak firmly with them whereas Amelia was always just a little too soft on them, she didn’t like raising her voice or speaking sharply with the kids, and thus they were more inclined to be mischievous and disobey her than they were their daddy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She needed to be more resolute with them, lest they grow up seeing her as the pushover parent. That just wouldn’t do.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You two need to work with me here!” Amelia mumbled as she urged Aster’s arm into the sleeve of her little sweater while the girl resisted in favour of trying to reach for her stuffed toys. “I don’t think dada would approve if he knew you were making this morning difficult for me,” she added, hoping at the mention of their father, they would maybe stop opposing her. They didn’t. Kari was in the middle of pulling his socks off - the socks that she’d put on him only moments before.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia sighed, searching her mind for a different approach. “Hmm… Kari, the sooner you get dressed, the sooner we can go downstairs and eat breakfast,” she said with a playful lilt in her voice, and Kari tilted his head up, visibly rethinking his efforts to pull his socks off. The little foodie couldn’t resist breakfast, and Amelia knew that more than anyone, but for Aster she had a different approach, “And Aster… the sooner we go downstairs, the sooner dada might be able to join us.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster stopped squirming and let out a rather dramatic sigh, perhaps mimicking how Amelia had done just a few seconds prior, and then dutifully stood still so that Amelia could finish dressing her. In her head, Amelia gave a victorious cry of delight, glad she had resolved the situation by herself.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good girl,” said Amelia, giving Aster a little kiss on the head, “right then, shall we go have breakfast my little lovelies?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I want egg!” Kari exclaimed as he attempted to wrestle his socks back onto his feet and Amelia snorted at his enthusiastic shout.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You want egg, huh? What kind of eggs? Fried eggs? Scrambled eggs?” Amelia asked as she helped her toddler put his socks back on.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Scam-bulled,” Kari responded, his pronunciation a little bit off.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Scrambled egg on toast, what do you think Aster, is that what you want too?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster shook her head and then helpfully signed out what she </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>wanted to eat, which happened to be yoghurt. Amelia shouldn’t have expected them to want the same thing for breakfast, it was exceedingly rare for them to both agree on one thing, but at least yoghurt was easily prepared - Amelia could throw in a few blueberries to make it more of an exciting first meal of the day.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Very well, let’s go.” She ushered her babies out of the room, glad that they were at an age where they were both eager and happy to explore on two feet, because they were getting too big that it took extra effort to carry them both at the same time. Amelia cast a glance back to her and Loki’s room, wondering if her husband had awoken yet and if she should check on him. Her worries were not at all abated, but she managed to convince herself that he would be fine with just a few extra hours of sleeping.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The morning went on as usual, with Amelia making breakfast for her children and herself; she fulfilled the steps of their daily routine without Loki which involved playtime, reading time and putting on a movie to keep the kids completely occupied and quiet, which gave Amelia a little while to just enjoy the peace and quiet. Normally, when there were two of them looking after the kids, they could trade off and take short breaks, but now Amelia was having to get used to caring for them by herself for a few hours every so often and she never realised before just how difficult it could be.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It probably would’ve been different if she had had just one baby instead of twins, but having to keep her eyes on both of them at once was quite a challenge when they were full of energy. Still, she wouldn’t swap them for the world. She loved Aster and Kari dearly, even when they were trying her patience. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia had sat them both down in front of Frozen and thankfully it seemed that Elsa and Anna had all their attention for the moment - it could all change in a heartbeat, so she didn’t take the moment for granted and revelled in the fact that she could sit there and drift through her thoughts for a while without worrying that her children were running around wreaking havoc.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Naturally, her thoughts went to Loki. It had been two hours since she’d gotten up and she was starting to worry; he was never the kind to sleep in, always preferring to be up and awake rather than resting in bed, even when he was injured. The stubbornness within him usually had him up and about when he probably should have been resting, which was why Amelia’s concern flowed endlessly that morning. He had said he would be fine when he woke, but he hadn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>woke </span>
  </em>
  <span>yet, it seemed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She was starting to feel bad for just leaving him in bed. What if his injuries were worse than he assumed? What if his wounds had gotten infected or something? Her brows must have furrowed and brought a very intense look of alarm to her face because suddenly she noticed Bruce standing at the edge of her vision and he was giving her a vaguely amused look.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Earth to Amelia?” He joked lightly, “Something on your mind?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia had failed to notice when he’d walked in, but she quickly wiped away her troubled expression and smiled at the man, “Oh, I’m fine, just a bit worried about Loki is all.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The smile on Bruce’s face fell slightly and he adopted a more uncertain expression, “I see. How is he this morning?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia shrugged her shoulders slightly, feeling even more ashamed that she hadn’t woken her husband up to see what state he was in, “I’m not entirely sure, he was still asleep when I brought the children down… I thought it was best to let him rest but now I’m not so sure,” she glanced at the clock again - it was coming up to 10:30am and his absence was feeling more and more irregular by the minute.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce’s frown didn’t help settle Amelia’s nerves, “I would have preferred he stayed in the infirmary but he wouldn’t have it,” he murmured, “It was… strange. He was acting strange the whole time I was treating his wounds, he just kept scrutinising his hands, I’m not sure why. When Tony reported back, he told me that Loki pretty much froze up on the battlefield and that’s why he was, um-” Bruce’s gaze flickered to the kids and he reassessed what he had been about to say, “-why he was unable to evade the assault.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After hearing what Bruce had to say, Amelia’s fears increased tenfold. Loki </span>
  <em>
    <span>froze up? </span>
  </em>
  <span>That wasn’t like him at all, what could have caused him to falter at such a pivotal moment that resulted in him being riddled with bullets? Something was definitely up with him, Amelia understood what Bruce meant when he said Loki had been acting strange, unlike himself.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She stood quickly, drawing the attention of her kids.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Mama, sit,” Kari whined gently, his fingers clenching in the fabric of Amelia’s shirt as he tried to tug her back into her place on the couch.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia flailed for a moment, looking between the twins and Bruce. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed </span>
  </em>
  <span>to go check on Loki, but she couldn’t leave the children unattended.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Bruce, could you-?” She didn’t even have to finish her query because the man in question nodded his head and gave her a small smile.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll watch ‘em. You let me know if Loki needs any medical assistance.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Thank you,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia couldn’t have been more grateful. She gave Kari and Aster an apologetic look, briefly tousling their hair with gentle caresses, “I’m gonna go see how dada is feeling, okay? Bruce is gonna keep you company till I get back so behave for him, okay?” Kari pouted but seemed to accept that mama had to go for a while, while Aster perked up at the mention of their father.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She quickly signed with her hands, “Me too!” And raised her arms in a request to be picked up; Amelia was struck by the fact that she was a very clever, empathetic little girl - she wanted to go with her and check on how her dada was doing, which absolutely pulled at Amelia’s heartstrings. Unfortunately, Amelia felt it was the more sensible decision to leave the children with Bruce, especially given the state Loki was in last night - it was something that could potentially upset them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You stay with Bruce, sweetheart. I promise you can see dada later, but for now he needs to rest,” Amelia told her, because there was no doubt that having the children fussing around Loki when he was in pain was a recipe for more stress. Aster slumped back into her seat, looking none too happy at what she had been told, but Amelia knew she would be back to herself in no time - especially when Elsa started singing ‘Let It Go’, the kids would most definitely love that song.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She thanked Bruce again as he sat between the kids and feigned extreme interest in the movie they were watching for the sake of their entertainment and then speed-walked out of the room and towards the elevator. With every step closer to their room, Amelia’s anxiety grew. What if he’d been in severe pain all this time and had needed her? She’d hate herself if he’d been waiting for her to return all this time.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The lift couldn’t move fast enough. She tapped her foot aggressively against the floor of the elevator, willing it to speed up, but it remained annoyingly slow. By the time it reached the correct floor, Amelia was in the process of wishing Tony had invented some sort of instant teleport device rather than relying on slow elevators.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She burst out as soon as the doors parted and launched into a jog down the hall till she reached the bedroom; the door slid open and she stepped into the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Loki?” Her nerves switched to confusion, because he wasn’t in the bed where she had left him. For a moment she felt silly, assuming that he probably had gotten up and felt fine, and maybe even headed to the training room to get a little exercise in before coming to join them, but then that thought was immediately crushed when she heard a sharp hacking cough followed by Loki’s pained moans coming from the bathroom.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia dashed through the door without even bothering to knock and found Loki sitting on the tiled floor, back pressed against the side of the tub, shirtless, with laboured breaths escaping him. He looked up as she entered in a haste and Amelia saw the true extent of just how terrible her husband looked. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was far paler than could be considered normal, with dark bags below his eyes betraying his exhausted state, and the usual bright pink of his lips had dulled significantly. He looked seriously ill, and it didn’t help that he was looking up at her with a piteous look; Amelia’s eyes fell to where he was bandaged on his arm and then to his abdomen, and blanched at the sight of red seeping through the white gauze. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia clapped a hand over her mouth, utterly speechless for a few moments at the sight before her. She managed to find her voice and stumbled over her words in a rush, “Wh- what…? Loki, what’s going on- are you… are you okay? What happened?” The sight caught her so badly off guard that she wasn’t sure what to do, and ended up almost tripping over as it occurred to her to kneel beside him and try to help him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki blinked slowly, “I’m not well.” He explained, his tone swathed in irritation at his current predicament, but instead of sounding aloof, he just sounded forlorn, like he was unable to put on a tough front in the state he was in.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can </span>
  <em>
    <span>see </span>
  </em>
  <span>that, Sherlock,” Amelia snapped, her sarcasm covering up her shock. “How did this happen? Your wounds?” She cupped his cheeks, hands gentle on his face, and looked between his eyes - he could easily see how tired he was, the way his eyelids were drooping slightly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He sighed, “No. The other way around.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh?” Amelia didn’t understand what he was implying.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki looked vaguely distressed with his next few words, “I am sick. Yesterday I felt unwell when I woke up. I tried to brush it off, went on a mission when I was called to action, and I got shot because of the fatigue I was and am still feeling.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>idiot!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia snapped, and then regretted her outburst when her husband winced. “Headache?” She guessed, speaking a lot more quietly, and Loki gave her an answering nod; Amelia gave a few seconds of consideration as she decided on what to do, and then shifted, dropping a hand to his shoulder to softly squeeze it, “Alright, listen. I’m gonna get you back to bed and I’m gonna call Bruce so he can deal with that,” her eyes flickered to his bleeding wound, “then you’re gonna tell me </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly </span>
  </em>
  <span>what’s up with you, cause you told me before that you don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>get </span>
  </em>
  <span>sick.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He had implied that he was completely immune to any disease or virus before, and the only time she had seen him in such a debilitated state was after the battle with Thanos, but this was entirely different, because he appeared to have some sort of ailment similar to the way humans battled infections.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Actually, I said I was immune to human illnesses and that you’d never see me sick. This is not a human illness, and… I was wrong about the second part,” he murmured. His words were slow and his throat was somewhat raspy, like he was trying desperately not to cough and it was further irritating each breath he took.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” Amelia whispered, biting her lip due to her nerves, “Come on, I need your help moving you to the bed.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The journey from the bathroom back to the bed was painstaking, especially when Loki almost fell down halfway there when he suddenly erupted into a coughing fit. His gasping breaths and weak cries that followed were a result of the agony that came from the wound in his abdomen, and Amelia concluded that his coughing must’ve been how he tore the stitches in the first place.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s body seemed to be entirely weakened. He was practically slumped onto Amelia entirely, which made it </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>difficult to transport him seeing as he was a whole lot heavier than her, but after what felt like forever, they reached the bed and Amelia laid him down, doubling up the pillows below his head. She then rushed to the intercom and demanded that F.R.I.D.A.Y contacted Bruce and requested his presence.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With a stroke of luck, Tony Stark had just entered the living room when Amelia called for Bruce’s help, and he was able and willing to take over the duty of watching the children - something for which Amelia was immensely relieved by, because there was no </span>
  <em>
    <span>way</span>
  </em>
  <span> she was going to let the kids in the room when Loki was suffering in his condition.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Bruce arrived quickly with a few medical supplies and made quick work of stopping the bleeding and stitching Loki up again, redressing both wounds in the process. He did try and probe Loki on what ailed him, but the response was stubborn and predictable.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” Loki hissed, glaring at Bruce through weary eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Loki, he just sewed you up. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Be nice,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia stated sharply in her </span>
  <em>
    <span>mum voice, </span>
  </em>
  <span>as if scolding one of her children, and it was done so without any hint of irony.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Surprisingly, Loki fell briefly quiet, looked at Bruce, and then mumbled, “Thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re welcome,” Bruce stated, and then turned to address Amelia, “If his condition worsens, I suggest it’s best we move him to the infirmary. Otherwise, make sure he stays put, don’t let him out of bed because doing so may put unwanted strain on his injury, and the more active he is, the more he’ll cough. As always, just call if you need anything.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As it happened, Loki didn’t like being talked to as if he wasn’t there, and he made as much clear in the grouchy scowl he pinned Bruce with, but the good doctor was completely unphased and left the room with the promise that he would ensure the kids were looked after while Amelia took care of her husband.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright,” Amelia sighed, “Explain to me exactly what the heck is going on. Please tell me this is just some forty-eight hour bug and you’ll be perfectly fine tomorrow? Better yet, tell me you know a freakin’ spell that you can cast to just make yourself better!” She kept her frantic words hushed for the sake of Loki’s head as she sat down on the bed beside her husband’s prone form.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki gave a bitter laugh that transitioned into a half-suppressed cough, Amelia offered a comforting hand and rubbed his bare shoulder, knowing her touch couldn’t do anything in the way of easing his pain, but hoping the contact would soothe him just a little.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know a spell… and even if I could… I couldn’t cast it,” Loki breathed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia didn’t like the sound of that. “What do you mean?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki took a slow breath and gently exhaled it, “I have Sorcerer’s Sickness.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia blinked, “You have </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki rolled his eyes, scoffing slightly, “You heard me.” His grumpiness was definitely enhanced by his state of illness.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What in the world is Sorcerer’s Sickness?” Amelia couldn’t help but think it was graver than the name made it sound.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki licked his chapped lips, looking very much like he had to gather up the energy to give the explanation; he also seemed like he was struggling to stay awake and that he very much needed to sleep for the rest of the day.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s the name given to an ailment that affects magic users, and it’s rare. I’ve only had this sickness on three separate occasions in my life,” he paused, “it’s not life-threatening, but…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“But?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia prompted anxiously.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It is unpleasant.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” Amelia began rigidly, “Tell me the symptoms. How long does it last? What can I do to help you feel better? Do you need anything from Inga?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki cringed at the seemingly endless flow of questions coming from Amelia’s mouth, “Uhh. Symptoms? Fatigue, exhaustion, muscle ache, headache, cough, and… complete loss of magical abilities.” He looked positively miserable at the fact and Amelia swallowed thickly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re telling me you can’t cast any magic?” Amelia could hardly believe it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki didn’t say anything, giving her another weary stare that begged the question ‘do I really need to answer that again?’</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia gave her husband an apologetic look, “Sorry. Will this last long?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki shrugged and winced at the movement, “Few days. Inga will not have anything for it, I just have to endure.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia slumped slightly. She’d never seen Loki like this before and she hated it, it was awful seeing him in pain and physical distress and not being able to do anything to take the discomfort away. She sighed, reaching out to brush the back of her fingers against Loki’s pale cheek; his furrowed brow softened slightly as he gazed up at her with eyes that were a much duller green than usual. She hoped he was right in saying it would only be a few days.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I get you anything at all? I could make you breakfast?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki shook his head weakly, “No. Thank you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia frowned. Loki was never one to turn down her cooking, which just further emphasized how unwell he must’ve been feeling.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll get you some water, at least. Your throat sounds like you need it.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>To that, he nodded. Amelia gave him a small smile and leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead; as she righted herself, she wondered out loud, “Is this illness catchy?” She was thinking more of the children and how it would really suck to have to keep them away from their daddy lest they too were to fall ill.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Loki answered, to Amelia’s relief.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good. You rest, I’ll get you some water. I’ll be right back.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Amelia returned with a pitcher and glass of water, Loki appeared to be once again in a deep sleep as he didn’t rouse when she walked in and set the water down on the bedside table - either that, or he was too enervated to open his eyes. She sat on her side of the bed up against the headboard and just watched Loki sleep, hearing the slight rasp in his lungs as he inhaled and exhaled each breath.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She had always assumed Loki was immune to all illnesses, he had practically said as much before, so it was surprising and felt strange that he was lying there in a weakened state, completely devoid of all his powers. Vulnerable. Amelia’s heart clenched; she would do everything within her power to help make him comfortable - he was always there to assist her whenever she was feeling unwell, and she’d be damned if she didn’t look after him like he often looked after her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve got you, darling,” she whispered aloud, stroking his cheek again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She wondered how the kids were doing downstairs. The movie was closing in on the ending when she’d headed down to retrieve some water, and Tony and Bruce had been doing a good job of appearing interested in the plot while simultaneously doing subtle work on their tablets; Amelia had heard Tony asking who their favourite character was and Kari had enthusiastically responded that Elsa was the best because she was “so cool”, which Aster had eagerly agreed on, and the following joke Tony had made about Elsa being ‘cool’ because of her ice powers completely went over their heads.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia imagined they would probably end up watching Frozen quite a few more times and that it would likely be a while before the childrens’ enjoyment of the songs faded, if it ever would. It was one of those Disney movies that pulled kids in and never let them escape.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki probably wouldn’t find delight in hearing Kari sing ‘Let It Go’ off key fifty times a day, unlike Amelia, who would absolutely find delight in it, but he would no doubt have to get used to it. She’d have to tell Kari to keep the singing to a minimum when they came to see their daddy later that day, if Loki was feeling up to it, that is. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia hoped he would feel better after a few more hours of sleep because she’d hate to have to tell the kids that their father was too sick to spend time with them. They weren’t used to seeing him so vulnerable and she thought the sight could potentially upset them. Amelia looked down at Loki’s face again.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She was getting ahead of herself, Loki would probably wake up a few hours later with his appetite returned and request something scrumptious to eat so that his strength might return and allow him to recover more easily. She hoped.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With an anxious sigh, she picked up a book she had left on her bedside table and began reading, content to sit quietly while she watched over her husband as he slept.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was roughly an hour and a half later that Loki awoke rather suddenly, his body crumpling in a savage coughing fit that had him curling up in agony from the pressure it put on his wounds; it panicked Amelia, the sound of his dreadful hacking noises and sobs in between were awful and it was abundantly clear just how painful it was. She was up in a heartbeat, rushing round to Loki’s side of the bed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sit up,” she instructed, helping her husband shift, mindful of his injuries. She fluffed his pillows up slightly, positioning them up against the headboard and urged him to sit against it, then she offered him the glass of water she had brought him, “have a drink.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He took the glass with shaky hands and drank down several gulps quickly, effectively soothing his throat and easing the affliction just slightly - it was enough for Loki to take a few affirming breaths without triggering another coughing fit. Amelia also rubbed his back in comforting circles, and gently asked, “Better?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki answered by nodding his head subtly; when he looked Amelia’s way, his eyes caught the light and she saw the glisten from the tears that had gathered there as a result of his pain, and Amelia was struck with a thought.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Darling, why did you go on that mission if you were feeling like this? Without the use of your magic?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s face hardened and his eyebrows furrowed with indignation, “You think I’m useless without my magic?” He asked tersely, misinterpreting Amelia’s concern as pity and clearly taking unnecessary offence. The low hiss in his throat irritated it further and his body quaked with the effort to hold in the coughs that wanted to escape.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia rushed to deny it, “That’s not what I meant and you know it.” She moved her hand to lightly brush his cheek but he turned his head away in a huff, slumping from the effort to sit up straight. “Loki,” Amelia spoke her husband’s name with vague exasperation and reached for him again, placing her hands on his shoulders and giving them a gentle squeeze, “I don’t think you’re useless without your magic, but you are hurt and sick, and definitely in need of looking after,” she smiled kindly, “so work with me, yeah?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s tired eyes fell to the bedsheets and he tentatively answered her previous question, “I felt off, but I didn’t realise I was sick. Not until my magic failed me on the battlefield when I had guns pointed my way,” his face soured exponentially, “I tried to launch magical projectiles and nothing happened, then the next thing I knew, I was flat on the ground with two bullets embedded in me. Stark saw everything, he incapacitated the gunmen and called Banner.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia swallowed tightly, worrying her lip at the mere thought of Loki being in that situation; she could only imagine the confusion he must have felt when his magic failed him, the pain and shock of being shot, and while Loki was probably too proud to admit it out loud, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>to have been scared. If it wasn’t for Tony coming to the rescue, those gunmen could have finished Loki off, and that probably went through his mind in those few moments between being shot and being saved.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>If Amelia was in his shoes, she would have thought about the children. Her heart clenched at just the possibility of Loki being tragically killed in such a way, unexpectedly without any prior warning. She imagined Tony and the others coming home to the Tower and breaking the news to her, the very notion wholly unbearable. Loki wasn’t impregnable, he had the capacity to die just like a human, and in his line of work, the chance of him coming face to face with death was regrettably </span>
  <em>
    <span>high.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia resisted the sprouting tears in her eyes for a few seconds and then gave in to them, leaning down to wrap her arms gently around her husband and holding him as tightly as she could without hurting him. “Why did you start doing missions again?” It was a rhetorical question, because he had already explained to her his reasoning of rejoining the Avengers previously - because it was simply what he did. “What would I do if something happened to you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki was taken slightly aback at Amelia’s sudden outburst; he let his head fall to her shoulder and embraced her with his good arm, sinking into the hug. Amelia tearfully continued, “If you… if you died, I wouldn’t be able to raise them alone. I don’t want anything to happen to you, whenever you’re gone I’m always worrying,” she sniffed and hiccupped, “you always say you’re immortal, but it’s not true, not really…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki rubbed Amelia’s back gently, “Amelia… I’m not going anywhere.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Next time, if you feel even slightly off, don’t you dare head out into danger. Promise me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I won’t, I promise,” Loki breathed, and Amelia pulled back, holding Loki’s face between her cupped hands and looking between his eyes as she quietly wept. She could see the regret in his apologetic gaze, but it was clouded with exhaustion, so she shifted and pressed his pillow back down against the mattress.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You should sleep. I want you to recover,” Amelia murmured, rubbing the bridge of her nose, “the children are probably wondering what’s going on…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki looked thoughtful for a moment, “Go to them, I will be fine up here. If I need you I can ask F.R.I.D.A.Y to call you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure?” Amelia was hesitant to acquiesce to his suggestion, because if he had another coughing fit she would be leaving him in a whole lot more pain, and the thought brought her insurmountable guilt.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki smiled, “I will be fine. And later, when I am feeling better and more rested, perhaps I can eat and you can bring the children up here.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The credence in his voice gave Amelia a little relieving boost; she smiled back, wiping her tears away, and leaned in to press a kiss to his cheek, “Yes, I think that’s a good idea. Tell F.R.I.D.A.Y when you wake up feeling hungry, and the kids and I will bring you something to eat.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After that, Loki settled back in to fall asleep and Amelia returned downstairs to her little ones, hopeful and awaiting the signal from the Tower’s AI that Loki was feeling better.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was almost four o’clock in the afternoon when Amelia received confirmation that Loki was awake and feeling a little less fatigued; she dutifully jumped up and zipped to the kitchen, putting together a tray of food that would be good for Loki, and informed her children that their daddy was feeling a little bit better.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster and Kari were delighted at the fact, as made clear with the way they ran around squealing, the little tippy-taps of their feet on the floor echoing throughout the room; they had been waiting </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>day to see their father again. Time had no meaning to a toddler, they didn’t have a grasp of how long ‘a few hours’ was, so they had resorted to enquiring every ten minutes as to when they could go and see him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright sweethearts, let’s go see dada.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yay!” Kari shouted, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet; he and his sister looked like they wanted to bolt down the hall ahead but they sensibly restrained themselves and walked along on either side of their mother. Amelia carried the tray of food steadily as they reached the elevator and all of them stepped in. The kids knew the button that needed to be pressed from memory, but both were too small to reach it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry kiddos, I’ll have to press it this time,” Amelia told them, balancing the tray in the crook of one arm and hitting the button with her free hand. Aster and Kari both let out an audible noise of mild disappointment, they always wanted to be the ones to press the buttons.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia shook her head in vague amusement and then sighed. F.R.I.D.A.Y hadn’t relayed any information on exactly how much better Loki was feeling, but as he’d said he would be feeling ill for a few days, Amelia imagined his condition hadn’t improved hugely. She was a little bit worried about how Aster and Kari would react upon seeing their father ill in bed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It wouldn’t be their first time seeing a parent unwell as Amelia had been ill several times before, but they had never seen her bedridden.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Listen, kids,” Amelia spoke, garnering the attention of her little ones who fell quiet upon sensing the serious tone of her voice, “daddy only feels a little bit better, which means he’s still very sick. He’s not allowed to get out of bed and he might be sleepy and coughing a lot, so you need to give him some space and keep the noise down in case he has a headache. That means no jumping on the bed or climbing on top of him, do you understand?” She told them slowly and clearly what they weren’t allowed to do, and both nodded up at her with their big round eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia smiled, “Good. Remember, daddy will be feeling all better in a few days, so we just need to be patient for him, think you can do that?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep!” Kari exclaimed, and Aster signed in affirmation.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia’s shoulders grew a little less tense at the display of understanding her children offered; they all exited the elevator when it arrived at the correct floor and walked down the hallway to the room Loki occupied. Amelia paused outside, giving the door a brief knock before opening it, just to give Loki a little prior warning that the peace was about to be disrupted - but to what degree? Well, that remained to be seen.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When she walked in, she was relieved to see that Loki was sitting upright against the headboard, now wearing a soft green linen shirt to cover up the bandages over his wounds; he still looked visibly poorly with the bags under his eyes, his paler than usual face and the less than luscious quality of his unkempt hair, but the cloudy exhaustion was no longer so prevalent in his eyes, and he had the strength to sit and read the book that was sitting open in his lap.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He smiled over when they walked in, clearly putting on a strong facade for the sake of the children, and the kids raced to the bed, sweet little noises of excitement escaping them at the chance to cuddle with their father. Kari climbed up onto the bed with ease, having become something of an expert climber, and he very kindly helped to pull his sister up onto the bed before the two of them both crawled over and sensibly </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>climb all over Loki.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia was thankful to have children who actually listened when it was something important.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, you two,” Loki greeted, wrapping his good arm around the kids as they snuggled beside him, and his voice was just as - if not more audibly raspy than it had been that morning. He must’ve been coughing a lot after Amelia had left him alone to rest.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You okay, dada?” Kari asked as he sat prudently on the bed, voicing the question on both his and his sister’s mind while Aster stood and carefully stroked her hand over Loki’s hair, returning a comforting gesture she was used to receiving from him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t you worry about me, little ones. I’ll be fine. What have you two been doing today, hmm?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster excitedly signed her answer, “Watched a movie!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It got queen Elsa!” Kari bounced slightly in his seat, eager to relay the contents of the movie to their father who had not seen it, “She got sad cause she can not show the ice, and she left and singed a song.” His barely comprehensible, strung-together sentences usually made just enough sense for Loki to understand but as he was lacking the context and not quite at full brain capacity due to his illness, Amelia elected to translate.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Queen Elsa has ice powers but she had to hide them all her life until she accidentally reveals them, and then she runs away from the kingdom and sings an empowering song because the weight of hiding it all is lifted.” Amelia explained with a chuckle, lowering the tray across Loki’s lap. “I’ve made you chicken soup and ginger tea with honey, both good for soothing your throat. And a few slices of watermelon for a little sugar boost.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki looked up at her gratefully, “Thank you, my love.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It go like this!” Kari exclaimed, and then remembered his instructions to keep the volume to a minimum and significantly lowered his voice, “Let it goooooo, let it goooooo… it anymoooore!” He hadn’t heard the song enough times to know the lyrics exactly, but it was a good effort all things considered.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster waved her hands to steal the attention and then signed, “Cold never bother me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The cold doesn’t bother Elsa, just like all you three,” Amelia added for clarity, and Kari clapped his hands enthusiastically.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We all Elsa!” Kari proclaimed, “Dada, can you watch Frozen?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki tilted his head, swallowing a mouthful of the warm chicken soup Amelia had prepared for him, “Mmm. Maybe. Perhaps.” He was vaguely intrigued by the concept, but he predicted there would be a lot of catchy and </span>
  <em>
    <span>annoying </span>
  </em>
  <span>songs he’d have to put up with.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Please dada?” Kari murmured, his eyes shining as he pouted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll see,” Loki huffed a slight laugh, but the action irritated his throat and made him cough again. He shook slightly as he coughed into the crook of his elbow, forcing himself not to crumple in agony as he had done earlier, and Amelia rushed to rub his back soothingly. She hated that there still wasn’t much she could do; she’d thought to grab some painkillers, but Loki had told her once that the medication would be too weak and ineffective for him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Perhaps we can ask Heimdall to inform Thor and Inga of your condition? She might have something for you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki regained his composure and shook his head, speaking with a heavily raspy voice, “Nonsense. I’m fine, I’ll be fine.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia did not appreciate his stubbornness. If it was herself or one of the children who was suffering, Loki would have sought Inga’s aid from the get go.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The children peered up at their father with concerned little faces, Aster mimicked her mother’s comforting gesture of patting Loki’s back gently while Kari repeated his earlier question, “You okay, dada?” a little more tentatively.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki cleared his throat, took a breath, and responded croakily, “I’m okay.” He forced a smile to try and convince the toddlers that he was fine, and while he was usually a master of deception, he wasn’t fooling anyone in his current state.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster pouted, her lower lip wobbling, and she lifted her hand palm-up in front of her; Loki glanced confusedly between her outstretched palm and her face as she looked at it in what appeared to concentration - a rather amusing expression on a toddler - but slowly, it became evident what she was doing when a flicker of green came to life above her hand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It took a moment, but a shimmering green butterfly emerged, its wings fluttering as it flew around her hand in a lively manner, perching upon her skin again every so often. Loki’s smile was no longer forced as he gazed upon it; the small gesture reminded him of the time when Aster was unwell and Amelia had done the same for her. He was shocked Aster remembered - perhaps it was a subconscious memory for her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Loki whispered, warmed by his daughter’s efforts to help him feel better. While the butterfly held no powers of healing, just the sight of it lifted him up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia watched on, relishing the beautiful sight. Even Kari was entranced, butterflies were about the only insect that didn’t fill him with dreaded alarm.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki pulled Aster into a hug as the butterfly eventually dissipated, kissing her cheek softly, and murmured “C’mere,” to Kari so that the boy snuggled up to him alongside his sister. Loki could have been on his last leg, but having his children by his side, cuddling up to him in the most wholesome way, could always enliven him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You two want some watermelon?” Loki asked after a short while, and huffed out a quiet laugh when two pairs of eager green eyes opened wide and the kids nodded their heads in affirmation. It seemed Amelia had predicted Aster and Kari would want to steal some of their dada’s food, because she had placed three slices on the plate just for that reason.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster and Kari tucked into a slice of watermelon each while Loki began to slowly consume his chicken soup. “Now, tell me more about this movie you watched,” said Loki.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia smiled as the kids’ faces brightened considerably at the chance to talk more about what was no doubt their new favourite Disney movie. She couldn’t wait till Loki had recovered from his illness and was coerced by two excitable three-year-olds into watching the Disney film that had the catchiest song in history.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you all for reading. Please leave a comment, it'll make me happy ^_^</p>
<p>Next chapter will be RELEVANT TO THE PLOT. And also there's gonna be a special little surprise that I'm sure a lot of people will love :D I've been excited about writing this next chapter! Yay!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0035"><h2>35. Don't Smile At Strangers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kari is unwell. Amelia looks after him while Loki and Aster take a trip to the marketplace. It doesn't go as planned.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Oh LAWD, it's been a while. I'm so sorry, y'all! Anxiety has been acting up and it affects my ability to concentrate on writing, so this chapter has taken quite a while to type up. It's a long one though, so hopefully that makes up for the time it took! </p>
<p>This is where a little plot sinks into the chapter ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The plan for Friday morning was to visit the Asgard marketplace as a little treat for the children before they were to begin their formal education with the help of a tutor who presided in the palace. For a few hours during four of the five weekdays, Kari and Aster were to attend the library, which acted as a sort of cr</span>
  <span>è</span>
  <span>che for the two young royals, so that they could have a safe and secure place to learn from a teacher.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia knew they were never going to have a normal human upbringing in a public kindergarten school simply because Loki would never have allowed the children to be away from them in a place that didn’t hold the entirety of his trust, placed in the care of people he did not know. It was understandable given everything they had been through, and Amelia had long since accepted it. They wanted to do absolutely everything to keep them safe from any danger.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>According to Loki, the tutor was a trustworthy person to leave the care of their children in for a couple hours, and Amelia trusted her husband’s word, so everything had been decided and arranged, and the kids were set to begin their schooling on the Monday. The children were a little unsure when Loki had told them what would become the new norm, but Amelia assured them that all would be well and they would have a fun time learning how to write and how to count up to </span>
  <em>
    <span>very big numbers. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The kids weren’t the only ones who were nervous. Amelia didn’t understand entirely why she felt anxious that her children were to begin lessons, but Loki suggested that she was feeling that way because it was the first time they would ever be apart for longer than a little while. Amelia agreed that that was partially the reason, but half of her couldn’t help but think she was somehow afraid that they were growing up too quickly. It seemed like only yesterday they were newborns in her arms, but now they were coming up to three and a half years old. It was strange how time seemed to flow so quickly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The marketplace trip was a little excursion that was meant to calm Kari and Aster’s nerves a little before the inevitable began, as visiting the market was one of the kids’ favourite things to do as of late. They both enjoyed the colourful banners around the shops and stalls, the friendly people, and of course, the copious amounts of goodies spread throughout. At this point, they knew the phrase “let’s go to the market” was synonymous with “let’s get a new toy to play with.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Which was why it was the biggest shame when Amelia and Loki got dressed on Friday morning and went to wake the children only to find that Kari had come down with a cold overnight. He lay in the centre of his bed which, after sleeping in a cot for so long, seemed comically large in relation to his size, and his poorly state made him seem all the more little. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His sinuses were blocked up and his eyes were watery, and when Amelia placed the back of her hand to his forehead, it was apparent he had a slight fever; Kari’s face was stuck in a persistent frown and he wiped his eyes repeatedly to try and rid them of the building moisture.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t do that, bug. You’ll get sore eyes,” Amelia told him gently, pulling his hands away.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They already sore,” Kari whined tearfully, upset at his current predicament, and his croaky voice suggested that his throat was </span>
  <em>
    <span>also </span>
  </em>
  <span>sore.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki sighed. “He’ll have to stay in bed and rest. I’ll send a servant to the infirmary to see if they can bring back anything that may help the pain, but he cannot come to the marketplace in this condition,” he said, aware that his words would likely fuel a little tantrum. He was right, because Kari immediately let out a long and loud wail that culminated in a sob and a hiccup, it must’ve been painful for him but the frustration of not being able to go and have fun at the market clearly outweighed it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Shh, shh,” Amelia hushed the boy, stroking his head, “Listen, bug. I’ll stay here with you and we can read a book or something. I’ll sing some Disney songs for you if you want. Daddy and Aster will bring you back something really nice from the market, okay?” She reached for her son’s favourite toy, Kangaroo, which had fallen off the bed at some point in the night, and tucked it under his arm snugly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was going to take a little convincing to get Kari to stop crying, because he continued to weep despite his mother’s suggestion. Loki affirmed his wife’s proposal, “We’ll bring you back a toy and some sweets or a little cake, I promise. Won’t we, Aster?” He turned to the girl holding onto his hand and she nodded in agreement.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster appeared downtrodden that her brother would not be joining them on their market visit, but within her eyes there was a determination to bring back something that would help Kari feel better.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We can always visit the market altogether next weekend, when you’re feeling better,” Amelia comforted her son as she reached for a handkerchief to clean up his runny nose with. The boy devolved into a series of sniffling whimpers, reluctantly accepting that he wasn’t able to take the trip he had been excited for. To Amelia, having to wait an extra week to visit the colourful Asgardian market wasn’t a huge deal, but for a young child, one week felt like years, and Amelia empathised with her tearful son. “It’ll go by before you know it,” she assured him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki tapped Aster lightly on the head to get her attention, “Go pick out the dress you want to wear, I’ll help you change in a minute.” The girl nodded and rushed to the wardrobe where all her colourful garments were hung on a low railing while Loki left the room and caught the nearest palace servant.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Could you bring my wife and son a selection of breakfast foods? And a cup of warm tea with honey for Kari, please,” Loki requested, and the servant obliged, bowing their head before heading in the direction of the kitchens. When Loki returned to the room, Aster had selected a light green dress and clutched a long thread of ribbon for him to tie up her hair; Loki helped to dress her and took extra care with her silky black hair, brushing it out gently in front of the mirror, finding it remarkable that it had grown down to her mid-back already, and then tied the ribbon into a bow that sat atop her head. Overall, she looked positively adorable.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Her big smile in the mirror suggested she was happy with her appearance, and she beamed furthermore when Loki signed the words, “Very beautiful.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>By the time Aster was all dressed, Kari’s whimpers had ceased into a strong pout; he looked upset and a little jealous that his sister was able to go and he wasn’t, but Amelia appeared to have soothed his little tantrum over it, probably on the promise that she would sing Frozen songs to him all day long.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re off now,” Loki informed his wife, leaning down to kiss her goodbye, and he shuffled round and gave his grumpy son a kiss on the head as well, “Sit tight, little one. We’ll be back soon, and you can trust that we’ll have something special for you.” Kari sniffed through his blocked nose in response, his lip quivering slightly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t forget to bring me back something too,” Amelia interjected playfully.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki hummed and smiled, “I’ll see what I can do, darling.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After Loki and Aster ate breakfast in the main hall, they headed to the stable and Loki checked out his horse, securing Aster in front of him on the mount so that they could ride comfortably; ordinarily when leaving the palace with his family, Loki would request an escort of guards to follow at a distance, but seeing as it was just Aster with him, he saw no need. He could easily keep her in his sights without a problem.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They set off at a pleasant pace. Aster’s hands laid over his on the reins as she gazed bright-eyed at everything they passed by; the fountains in the courtyard, the large stone statues that paid homage to Odin and Frigga, the servant and maid quarters, the palace gates, the blacksmith, the tavern, the log homes of Asgard’s residents, the residents themselves - there wasn’t a single thing that didn’t become the subject of Aster’s transfixed gaze. She liked to look and observe the world around her, always wanting to stop and inspect something new whenever they went on walks. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>If it wasn’t for the fact they were riding on a horse, they probably wouldn’t arrive in the market for hours given Aster’s penchant for examining things so closely. She was a very curious little girl, it was a trait that reminded Loki of himself.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Every so often, Aster leaned forward to pet the horse’s mane, probably enjoying how silky it was.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Does Sune have a soft mane?” Loki asked, and the girl nodded enthusiastically, giving the horse a few happy pats. Loki chuckled, “Would you like to learn how to ride a horse when you’re old enough? I’d like to teach you one day.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The notion must have sparked excitement for Aster because she tilted her head back till it bonked against his chest and gave him her biggest grin. That appeared to be a ‘yes’. Loki tickled her tummy and the girl squealed and giggled, a sound that was perfectly melodic. Aster tapped his arm and signed the word ‘today’ with big, hopeful eyes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t teach you to ride a horse today. You’re too small, your legs can’t reach the stirrups.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Please,’ Aster signed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki smirked at her persistence, “I can teach you how to use the reins. Look closely,” he indicated where he gripped the leather strap in each hand loosely, and once he was sure Aster was listening intently, he showed her, “if you want to steer the horse to the right, you bring your hand out like this, and if you want to steer left, you do the same with your left hand. See how Sune changes her direction?” Aster nodded her head again, Loki couldn’t tell if she had fully understood the instruction or if she was just happy that he was teaching her something new in general.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want to try it out?” Loki asked, loosening his hold on the rein so that Aster could take it. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>From the tentative way she took hold of reins, Loki assumed she was going to be gentle with it, but he very nearly snatched the reins back when Aster promptly tugged the right rein to the side and almost sent Sune careening into a man walking innocently down the path from the other direction. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki righted the confused horse at once, and called to the disgruntled man who had been close to being trampled “I’m so sorry!” Sune snorted, probably thinking Loki was crazy for almost directing her straight into that poor man, so he gave her a reassuring and apologetic pat on the neck. Loki probably should’ve known better than to hand the reins of a horse to a three and a half year old.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster looked bashful, evident by the way she was chewing on her fingernails, and it was clear from her face that she knew she hadn’t done it right.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s alright,” said Loki, “you have plenty of time to learn to do this properly. And I bet you’ll grow up to be the best horse-rider in Asgard.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster liked the sound of that, her smile returned yet again and it brightened up the world.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When they reached the market, Loki tied up the horse and looked around, it was filled with people of all sorts; there were those who were rushing around with intent to get their shopping done as quickly as possible, those who meandered around at a slow pace, eyes rolling over things as they tried to decide if it was something they really needed or not, those who were there only for necessities and those who were there to treat themselves. And then there was Loki and his daughter, who managed to slip about unseen with nothing more than the use of a hood.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Whenever visiting the market for a quiet day out with his family, Loki would always cover his head with a hood. It didn’t always work, but those who did recognise him knew that his attempt to shield his identity was more of a simple request not to approach and engage in conversation, and they knew well enough to respect that.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki hung his empty shoulder bag across his body and carried Aster on one hip, “So, where to first?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster turned her head, examining the bustling square as she looked over all the stalls and stores, searching for the one that most picked her fancy, and then she found it. She pointed through the crowds at the shop which housed a bunch of different toys and games, and Loki chuckled knowingly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why am I not surprised?” He made his way through the swarm of people and approached the toy store, stepping into the small building. Once situated inside, it was up to Aster which way they went; he placed her down on her own two feet and then followed her as she hopped to the toys that caught her eye first. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>If there was one thing that Aster liked most of all, it was cuddly toys and dollies; she gravitated to the shelf of dolls with varying dress colours and hairstyles, and tested their likeability by picking each one up, stroking their hair and hugging them to her chest.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki knelt down beside her, “Which one do you like the most?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster looked unsure, her gaze going between a blonde doll with a blue dress and a brown-haired doll with a purple dress. She pouted hard, struggling to make up her mind, and Loki would have loved to tell her she could have both, but Amelia had made it clear many times that she didn’t want her children being spoilt, and Loki had reluctantly agreed to her wishes. He hadn’t really understood her reasoning at first, but once she explained that overindulging the kids would likely teach them to be rude and bratty, he began to see that her logic was sound, even if it pained him to have to tell his children </span>
  <em>
    <span>no. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The kids had heard </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘no’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>many times, and Aster knew off by heart that she was only allowed </span>
  <em>
    <span>one </span>
  </em>
  <span>toy from the toy shop, which is why she looked between the two dolls so meticulously as she tried to decide which one to take home. Eventually she looked up at her father, face still swathed in uncertainty, her expression silently asking for advice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You want to know what I think?” Loki asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster nodded.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think this one is better,” he pointed at the doll with the purple dress, “because it looks like your mother.” His observation had the desired effect of causing Aster to make up her mind immediately, she was happy to have the doll that looked like mama; Aster hugged the doll to her chest, looking satisfied with her selection.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Now, what toy shall we get for your ailing brother, hmm?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster turned her attention to the lovingly crafted soft animal toys on the opposite shelf, knowing that they were the kind of toys that Kari liked most.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm, there’s a lot to choose from,” Loki murmured, “there’s a cow, sheep, deer, rabbit, a duckling, a pig... what do you think, little flower?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster tilted her head and picked up a fluffy owl, holding it out with a big smile; she appeared confident that her brother would enjoy this toy and Loki wondered if maybe she had heard Kari praising the owl toy the last time they’d come to this shop. It was a snowy white owl, and it reminded Loki of Hedwig from the Harry Potter books.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He had yet to read the book series to his children; he wanted them to be at the right age that they would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>interested in it, because it was a series he had been waiting a long time to read to them and he wanted them to share the same joy in the boy wizard’s adventures as he did when Amelia had introduced him to them. It was probably going to be a couple more years before he could read them to the kids.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think he’ll love this,” Loki smiled, “good choice, little one.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After paying the vendor out of his coin purse for the toys, Loki followed his daughter out of the store, watching her skip and jump about happily as she clutched her new doll. As wonderful as it was to see her so overjoyed, Loki felt obliged to carry the doll safely in his shoulder bag to avoid it accidentally being dropped on the journey back to the palace.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Shall we put it away for the moment, Aster? Until we return home. We wouldn’t want it to get dirty between here and there, would we?” Loki asked gently, holding the bag open for her to slot the doll in next to the snowy owl. She looked a little reluctant to let go of it, but gave in a moment later, giving the toy a parting kiss before popping it into the bag. “Good girl,” Loki said, giving her hair a little caress. “Where to next?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster held onto his hand when he offered it and the two stepped back into the busy street, looking up and down for a hint of their next location.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Their next stop ended up being the bakery stall as the delicious waft of sweet cakes and freshly baked bread flowed their way; it was so good that even Loki found it difficult to resist, he didn’t indulge in sweets as often as Amelia and the kids, but if there was one place he came to when his sweet-tooth demanded it, it was the Asgard market bakery. Their cakes were practically magical, far better than what was found in the palace kitchens, in Loki’s opinion.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki practically had to hold Aster back as they stopped before the stall, because her immediate reaction was to try and reach up onto the counter and grab one of the glazed cakes; he clasped her hand with a gentle but firm grip and gave her a stern look.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You know we need to </span>
  <em>
    <span>pay </span>
  </em>
  <span>for these first. We aren’t at the palace, remember? Not everything you see belongs to you,” he scolded her and Aster sunk back slightly, her gaze dropping shamefully. She didn’t like being told off, least of all by her father, but she should have known better; she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>well </span>
  </em>
  <span>aware what the rules in the marketplace were. “Besides,” Loki continued, “we aren’t eating our sweets until we get back to Kari and your mother.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster made a half-whining noise of disappointment but solemnly nodded her head indicating that she understood; she then lifted her arms in request to be held so that she could get a better view of the many treats being sold by the vendor. Loki picked her up, balancing her on his hip, and watched Aster’s mouth practically water at the sights and smells the bakery stand had to offer.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, if it isn’t his royal highness and the little princess,” the vendor quietly observed so as not to draw attention; he knew Loki well enough as he, Amelia and the kids visited the bakery all too often. He was an older gentleman named Guthrum who had been a skilled fighter in his younger days, but began working with his wife at the bakery when his body became slower with age.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Guthrum, good to see you,” Loki greeted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Quite a pleasure to have you at my stall, as always. How are the little tots today?” He peered over the edge of the stall, expecting to see Kari nearby, and his eyes wandered in search when he did not find him, “Oh! Where’s the other one?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki chuckled, “Unwell, today. He’s staying firmly in bed until he feels better, and Amelia is looking over him. I promised to bring him back something sweet that might ease his ailment.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah-ha! A brilliant idea on your part, I have something that’ll be sure to put a smile on his face,” Guthrum indicated the iced vanilla cupcakes that he knew Kari was partial to, “these ones have cherries in the middle. My fantastic wife made them, so you </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>they’re good!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki smiled, peering at Aster, “What do you think? Do you want one as well?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She gave an enthusiastic nod while licking her lips, pointing at the cherry cupcakes like they were the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll take that as a yes.” Loki turned back to Guthrum, “We’ll take two cupcakes, the chocolate twist for me and the raspberry muffin for my wife.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Right away!” The vendor announced, and proceeded to total up the price; Loki paid the sum and Guthrum individually packed the muffin and the pastry in paper bags while the cupcakes went into little boxes to avoid squashing them. Loki placed them all into his shoulder bag alongside the toys and thanked the vendor.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Anytime, your highness. See you again next week,” the man bid them farewell and Loki left the stall amused that Guthrum saw them often enough that he knew their schedule - and he </span>
  <em>
    <span>would </span>
  </em>
  <span>see them next week.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” Loki began, readjusting Aster momentarily, “we’ve got toys for you and your brother, sweets for us all… what next?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Home?’ Aster signed, and Loki hummed, spotting the florist a little further down the street.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think we should get some flowers for your mother. She loves flowers.” It had been a while since Loki had surprised Amelia with a pretty bouquet, and he knew the action always garnered a beautiful grin from his wife.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>‘Home.’ Aster signed again, a little impatiently.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki quirked an eyebrow at his daughter, “Are you so desperate to get back to the palace because you want to eat your cupcake?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster pouted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Have some patience, little one. Your mother deserves some flowers, are you going to help me pick out the right ones?” His daughter could get a bit restless but he felt that including her in the flower-choosing process would make the wait for sweets a little more tolerable for her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She gave a hum of affirmation but then had the audacity to sign ‘quick’, which made Loki laugh aloud.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The cheek of you. Do you get that from me?” He remarked dryly, but assured her either way, “I promise it won’t take long.” Despite Aster’s sassiness, she grew joyful in the presence of many bouquets of pretty, colourful blooms, she pointed keenly at several different arrangements, changing her mind every few seconds about which one to pick, but eventually she settled and made grabby hands at a dazzling bouquet of light pink and baby blue hydrangeas. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I think your mother would love these. Do you know that all flowers have meaning behind them? Now, blue and pink hydrangeas each have their own meaning,” Loki explained idly as he very gently caressed the petals of the bloom with his fingers, “blue ones mean… gratitude and understanding. Pink ones mean sincerity, candour and romance. Together, they create the perfect little cocktail of feelings for a flourishing relationship.” He glanced at Aster, who was looking blankly at him like he’d been going on and on about something she didn’t really understand, and he smiled. “I sound like your mother. I think she’d be impressed that I remembered that, honestly.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The vendor was busy serving another customer, but Loki waited patiently for his turn, though Aster was a little agitated that things were taking longer than she expected, because she began to shift and swing her legs with the need to move about.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki tried to capture her interest again, “Did you know, your mother named you after a flower? Aster is a flower. She told me they are talismans of love and patience the day you were born.” Loki quirked a sarcastic eyebrow, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Patience. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Tch. If only she’d known you would be rather the opposite, hm?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster wasn’t even paying attention to him anymore, because her eyes were glued past his face, affixed to something on the stall; Loki followed her gaze and noticed a fluttering blue butterfly hovering around the various blooms in the stall. The girl really liked her butterflies.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The butterfly flew lower, dancing around the flower arrangements at ground level, and Aster shimmied in her father’s arms, making grumpy noises that indicated her desire to be put down. Loki sighed, obliging so that his daughter could inspect the butterfly more closely, if it could keep her from whining impatiently then it was useful and harmless. Upon being placed down, Aster immediately squatted down beside the flowers and watched the butterfly happily go about its day.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, my prince, my apologies for keeping you waiting, I didn’t see you there,” said the vendor, a young lady named Randvi, “looking for flowers for Princess Amelia?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Found them, in fact,” Loki spoke with a smirk, motioning a hand to the bouquet of hydrangeas at the edge of the stall.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s a good choice! Right away,” Randvi carefully picked up the bouquet and began the process of tying them together and wrapping the stems securely. She took the offered payment from Loki and handed over the bouquet.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you,” said Loki as he positioned the bouquet in his shoulder bag in a way that didn’t squash the flowers; he was pleased with the purchases he had made and was now ready to return to the palace, something he was sure Aster would be overjoyed about.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, Aster, let’s go.” He turned to where he had last seen there, but all that remained was an empty space; he spun around, expecting to see her hovering behind or around his legs, but she was not there.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A wicked stab of worry shot through him and he lifted his fervent gaze to the streets full of people, his eyes dotting frantically over the crowd in search of a little green dress, but the densely packed marketplace did not yield the sight he was hoping for. It was as though she had vanished without a sound.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s heart was hammering in his chest.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aster?” He choked out, and then repeated louder, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Aster?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He prayed his daughter would come running round the side of the stall at the call of his voice, but as he stepped away from the florist, he realised she must have been out of hearing range, which further terrified him. He attempted to remain calm, pondering where he would have gone if he was in his daughter’s shoes, but it only served to confuse him. Aster was a shy little thing, she would never just wander off when they were out in public like this, or so he thought.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She’d been wanting to return home, but there was no way she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>impatient and bold; she wouldn’t - he </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew </span>
  </em>
  <span>she wouldn’t. She was three and a half years old, Loki wasn’t sure she could even find her way back, toddlers had no sense of direction.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aster!?” Loki oscillated between directions, knowing he had to pick a path and take it, but was reluctant in case the girl </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>come back only to find him gone; he didn’t know what to do or where to look and the ever-growing pangs of fear in his chest were becoming more and more prominent.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Before he could launch into a frantic pace, grabbing everyone in sight and demanding to know if they’d seen his daughter, the sound of ravens cawing loudly briefly caught his attention; his gaze tore down a narrow side path between two homes which led into a wider, dark alley, and it was there he saw two ravens flitting across the roofs. From the mouth of the alley, he saw the fluttering butterfly Aster had been enamoured by - she </span>
  <em>
    <span>must </span>
  </em>
  <span>have followed it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>At once, he launched into a run, his footsteps echoing loudly off the stone ground; his heart dropped to his stomach when he heard her little voice scream in what sounded like fear.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“ASTER!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He roared, ready to charge whoever had caused her such distress.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He broke out into the alley. Aster stood a few metres ahead with her back to him, tense and small and crouched in on herself. Loki only just caught a flutter of dark purple fabric disappearing beyond the lip of another narrow path leading further away form the market, accompanied by harsh footsteps - whoever had tormented Aster into such a state.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki set in motion again, scooping Aster up and carrying her as he rushed forward after the mystery person, determined to catch and confront them - they would pay dearly if they had harmed Aster in any way, and even if they had not touched a hair on her head, they would be sorry.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Whoever it was, they were fast, but Loki was sure he was faster.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t let up, despite Aster’s fearful weeping in his ear and persistent tapping on his shoulder, he followed the person through twisting alleys and empty backstreets, never once catching a clear glimpse of anything more than the colour of their cloak disappearing around another corner.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He growled as he pursued them, his anger practically overflowing, his harsh footfalls fuelled by the thought that somebody felt they had any right to harm or scare Asgard’s youngest princess, which led him to another thought - were they Asgardian or were they an outsider? It was hard to believe any Midgardian could outrun him, but it was even harder to believe an outsider had passed unseen through the boundaries of the kingdom.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He ignored Aster’s wild tapping on his shoulder as he zipped around another corner, once again simmering in frustration that he couldn’t see the target more clearly. When he reached the next corner, he felt a jolt flow through his body at the sight of the figure stumbling slightly over some discarded rope across the cobbled ground; they caught their balance rapidly enough but Loki was sure their little misstep would be enough for him to catch up as they had lost all momentum.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Daddy!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki very nearly almost fell to the rough stone, and would’ve ended up in a heap alongside his daughter if he hadn’t managed to right himself by thrusting his hand out against the closest wall. He breathed heavily, staring at his daughter whose head was buried in his shoulder, his eyes wide with disbelief. She had </span>
  <em>
    <span>spoken? </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He inwardly cursed as he remembered his pursuit, and jogged to the end of the passage to peer around the corner. No one in sight. The figure had escaped. He had let his guard down and it had allowed the mysterious person to get away. He would’ve hissed an expletive if his daughter wasn’t sitting in the crook of his elbow.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Again, she shocked him. “I want to go home.” Aster’s words were so quiet, even his ears strained to hear her, but hear her he did. Her voice was soft and meek, her accent was Asgardian and her diction was rather advanced for that of a three and a half year old who had never spoken before.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aster?” Loki responded, automatically whispering as she had. He rubbed a hand soothingly over her back, immediately worried that she was hurt; a fleeting glance over her body revealed no visible injuries, though the skin on her forearm was a little pinker, as if she had been tightly grabbed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His gaze darkened. He would find whoever did this.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Despite Aster’s desperate plea, Loki followed the alley down slowly, entering a small square clearing with a cobbled flooring job that looked like it had been distinctly rushed or done carelessly, a boarded up well in the centre of the area, a few drab doorways into the surrounding residential homes and another passage opposite that led back to the main streets.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There were no clues as to whether the assailant had entered into one of the homes or had just continued through and disappeared off into the busy walkways, unseen by those simply going about their day. Either way, Loki was determined to figure out who had tried to potentially kidnap his daughter one way or another. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He breathed slowly and deeply to try and diffuse his anger. The only thing that immediately mattered was making sure Aster was okay; she was currently crying into his shoulder and it pulled painfully at his heartstrings.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s alright, little one. They’re gone. I have you. You’re okay. Did they hurt you?” He spoke clearly with the intent to calm the girl, hoping he could get more words out of her if she managed to stop crying, but she didn’t answer his question, just kept her face buried in the shoulder of his cloak, sniffling and hiccupping in her upset state.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re going back now,” he assured her gently, rubbing circles over her back with his large palm, “you don’t have to be scared, I have you.” He repeated those three words like they were a pacifying beacon and hoped the girl would be settled by the reassurance. Loki understood why she was afraid, but he wanted her to know he would not let anything more hurt her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He shouldn’t have let anyone hurt her to begin with.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki wanted to hold her firmly and sternly ask why she felt it apt to wander off noiselessly amidst a bustling, busy street, but he knew such a reaction would only further frighten her; she didn’t need his anger, she needed his comfort.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As Loki walked back towards the main street, he couldn’t help but feel floored that his daughter had finally spoken her first words aloud. It seemed surreal, like a dream, or a nightmare in Aster’s case; perhaps he should have expected her to speak with his distinct Asgardian accent and the clarity that generally came with it, but he simply hadn’t expected anything like it. Her soft little voice was beautiful to hear, the fact that ‘daddy’ had been her very first word should have made him feel warm and delighted, but the circumstances under which she had spoken left him feeling cold and dismayed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She had spoken in fear, the little waver in her voice showing just how afraid she was. He hadn’t been paying enough attention to read her signs, so she’d had to resort to talking aloud, and now she had her face pressed against his shoulder and wasn’t pulling back. Like she was hiding.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki carried Aster back to the street where he had tied up their horse, he hoped that the sight of Sune would ease some of her rigid discomfort, but she barely even glanced at the horse as Loki mounted the mare and buckled his daughter into place directly in front of him so that she wouldn’t slip off the saddle. Once in place, she kept her head mostly down, refusing to let her gaze wander too much, and it made Loki furious. Not at her, obviously, but at whoever it was that had frightened her in that alley, and potentially laid their hands on her. Aster’s curious spirit had been temporarily broken.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He placed his large hand on Aster’s shoulder and told her, “We’ll go faster than usual, to get back home quicker,” so that she had the forewarning to expect a slightly bumpier journey than usual, and he waited for her subtle answering nod before kicking Sune into a canter. His real desire to reach the palace sooner was so that he could order a group of guards to patrol the town in the marketplace area and hopefully shed some light on who had scared his daughter.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>If they were unable to find the person, then maybe at least they could question some townspeople to find out if anybody had seen anything.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After a few minutes on the horse, Loki watched Aster wipe her face and dry her tears; she seemed to have pulled together a little composure and the only evidence left of her upset state was the occasional sniffles. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When they reached the palace, Loki left Sune with the stablehand and immediately speed-walked to the barracks with Aster once again held safely in one arm. He made it there in record time and called out for the captain of the guard by name, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Sigeric!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>The guards present stood at attention and Sigeric came around the corner, vaguely surprised to see Loki; he bowed out of respect and greeted him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Prince Loki, what can I do for you?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I need you to patrol the marketplace and search for somebody dressed in a purple cloak. I didn’t get a good look at them but they </span>
  <em>
    <span>attacked</span>
  </em>
  <span> my daughter. Start in the alley near the florist, ask around and see if anybody may have seen anything, I know it’s not much to go on, but…” Loki sighed, glancing back at Aster who had gone back to hiding her face from everybody present. If Aster had seen the person who had troubled her, maybe she could give them a description, but Loki could tell from the look in her eyes that she wasn’t going to talk again, not in front of the guardsmen.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He knelt down, standing Aster in front of him so that he could talk to her face to face and allow her attention to be on him alone, “Aster. The person you saw in that alleyway, was it a </span>
  <em>
    <span>man </span>
  </em>
  <span>or a </span>
  <em>
    <span>woman?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> He signed the two answers respectively, hoping it would prompt her to answer through signing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster looked like she just wanted to head back to her room and not have to deal with this, but Loki needed </span>
  <em>
    <span>some </span>
  </em>
  <span>sort of description to offer the guards. After a few tentative moments, she signed her response. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Man.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>So, a man had grabbed his daughter in that dark alley. Loki tried not to let the rage show on his face, he didn’t want to scare Aster.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What did he look like, Aster? Was he young? Middle-aged or old?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster gave him a hopeless look, she didn’t know how to answer. Loki nibbled the inside of his cheek as he tried to think of simpler questions, “Was his face wrinkled?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She shook her head ‘no’ and Loki nodded. He continued to ask very basic questions, asking about the length of his hair or the colour of it, what colour his eyes were, whether he had a big or small nose, were his teeth white or yellowed, and eventually built up a small profile of the man that could serve as a starting point for the search.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, so we’re looking for a potentially young or middle-aged man with short, straight brown hair and dark eyes…” Sigeric trailed off and then gave a strange hum.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What is it?” Loki asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“This description matches that of Sten Ulfson-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Who is </span>
  <em>
    <span>that?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki wanted answers and he wanted them quickly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“An assistant at the library, my lord, he was reported missing a few days ago and we’ve been looking into the disappearance under the King’s orders,” he paused, “it could just be a coincidence that this missing person and your mysterious perpetrator share similar features, but it’s worth investigating a link. I’ll lead a patrol down in the marketplace to see what we can find.” Sigeric’s information about a missing person was news to Loki, and he felt a fresh wave of irritation roll over him. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why </span>
  </em>
  <span>hadn’t Thor told him that a resident in the town had been reported missing?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Sigeric. Please report any findings as soon as you discover anything that may be significant.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, my prince.” With a nod, he turned back to the guards present and began giving them orders of where to look and what to investigate.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki lifted his daughter again and spoke quietly to her, “Let’s go back and see Kari and your mother, mm?” His gentle suggestion brought relief to her face and she nodded her head, silently pleading for them to hurry back. He didn’t waste anymore time, dutifully carrying the girl back to her and Kari’s bedroom, during which time, Loki’s contemplation once again went to the topic of Aster finally speaking.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He hoped she would speak again, because he was beginning to think Amelia may not even believe him when he told her that a few words had finally dropped from Aster’s lips. He also wanted to hear her voice again, and wanted Amelia and Kari to hear it too, because it was so magnificently sweet, beautiful and melodic. He was oddly pleased that Aster spoke with an Asgardian accent rather than the American accent that Kari had adapted from his mother. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki paused halfway through the journey back to the children’s bedroom and glanced down at Aster, who looked up at him with her wide eyes. He reached his hand down into his shoulder bag, minding the delicate flowers, and fished out the dolly that Aster had personally picked as her toy. He held it out for her, a small comfort that he knew would make her feel a little bit better, and it did, because her frown lifted into a subtle smile as she grabbed the doll with both hands and hugged it tight to her chest. The sight eased Loki’s tense demeanour ever so slightly and he ran his fingers through her hair before continuing on.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia knew something was up the moment Loki and Aster came back into the children’s bedroom; she turned to the door with a big smile, expecting Aster to skip back in with an equally large grin ready to show off her new toy, but instead she looked lacklustre in the arms of her dad. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was a nervous expression on her face, a knit in her eyebrows that shouldn’t have been found on the face of a toddler. What had upset her?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Dada!” Kari waved at them, a little more cheerful than he had been earlier that morning, though his voice suggested his sinuses were still congested.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” Amelia greeted after her smile fell, “What’s going on?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki sighed. His mouth opened but he did not speak, tentative and unsure, then he looked at Aster and stroked her cheek with his fingers, “Do you want to show your brother the toy you picked out for him?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It lit her face up just a little and she nodded; Loki placed her down on her feet and picked Kari’s snowy white owl out of his bag, handing it to the girl. Aster hugged both the owl and her doll to her chest with one arm and scurried to her bed to grab her soft green blanket so she could drag it to Kari’s bed. She climbed up onto the mattress with a little extra effort and sat beside him, presenting him with the owl.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari let out a sweet little gasp as he examined the owl, petting its fur with his hand, and then hugged it tightly, his face showing nothing but joy. “Thank you Asdah!” He readily cuddled his sister in gratitude and she hugged him back, but she didn’t let go after a few seconds like she usually would. She seemed unwilling to let go of her brother; it was something that would usually bring a huge smile to Amelia’s face, but given Loki’s somewhat grave demeanour, Amelia couldn’t help but feel that something bad had happened and it had caused Aster some pretty hefty anxiety.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She once again looked to Loki, her face holding a questioning expression, and Loki beckoned her over with a tilt of his head, which wasn’t reassuring at all. What on Earth was going on?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia gave the children a forced smile, noting that Aster had cuddled up to her brother and pulled her blanket firmly around them both, “I’ll be right back, lovelies,” she told them softly, stroking both of their heads affectionately before standing and crossing the room to talk with Loki furtively in the corner.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Loki, what’s going on?” She whispered urgently, “Is Aster okay?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia thought she might’ve spotted a hint of shame on her husband’s face, and was clueless to what it could possibly mean until he spoke.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I lost sight of Aster in the marketplace for a few minutes,” Loki admitted, “and in that time, she had a… </span>
  <em>
    <span>confrontation</span>
  </em>
  <span> with somebody… who I can only assume had harmful intentions.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It took Amelia a few moments to process what her husband had said, but as soon as she understood, she frowned deeply and there was an almost accusatory hint to her narrow gaze, “What do you mean harmful?” She repeated with rising anxiousness, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Loki, what do you mean harmful?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki touched her arm to reassure her, “I’m not entirely certain what happened, Aster didn’t want to talk about it. I was… preoccupied at a market stall and she got distracted by a butterfly and just wandered off, when I found her, she was crying and whoever upset her had fled. I tried to chase them but they slipped away,” he explained quietly. “I’m sorry I didn’t keep a closer eye on her, I won’t let it happen again.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He seemed very remorseful that he had allowed himself to lose track of their daughter, and it was very clear that he definitely wouldn’t be so careless in the future; Amelia’s expression softened ever so slightly and she looked back to her daughter, concern and nerves bubbling in her stomach uncomfortably. “But is she </span>
  <em>
    <span>okay?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia whispered.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki nodded, “She will be fine, she’s just a little shaken.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>His answer pacified Amelia to an extent but there were still many questions floating through her head, “So she’s not hurt? What did they do? Loki, why would somebody make our daughter cry?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was just as stumped as she was given by the apologetic shake of his head, “I think they might have tried to grab her. To take her,” he closed his eyes momentarily at the dastardly thought, “If I hadn’t found her when I did…” Loki trailed off and then sighed, “I do not know of their intentions, I can only speculate, but as soon as I came around that corner, they were running, and that screams </span>
  <em>
    <span>guilty </span>
  </em>
  <span>to me. I have guards scouring the market and surrounding area for anything out of the ordinary and they will be questioning villagers in search for information.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia nodded, her mouth parted in shock and anger that somebody had likely tried to kidnap Aster; she touched her hand to her chest, trying to find words. “Loki… they’re safe, right?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s taut expression softened, “Here, they are as safe as they can ever be. Next time we leave the palace, I will take extra measures to ensure nothing like that will happen again, I promise you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia’s throat tightened uncomfortably as her mind started kicking itself into overdrive, trying to figure out what exactly must have happened. She couldn’t believe that anybody in Asgard would try to harm her daughter, she had never had any reason to believe that anybody held any ill will towards the little ones, and the more she thought about it, the sicker she felt.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Loki, why would somebody- why would this happen? Why would somebody do that?” Her breaths came fast as she struggled with the thought that something could have happened to her child. The mere thought of her being hurt instilled her with rage and terror, which manifested with her shaky hands. She wrung them together tightly as she blinked back tears and quietly hissed, “Why the fuck would anybody try to hurt our baby girl?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki held Amelia firmly by her arms, shushing her gently out of her frenetic state, “I don’t know, Amelia,” he told her with a hardened expression, “but I </span>
  <em>
    <span>will </span>
  </em>
  <span>find out, and there will be severe consequences for whoever would dare lay a finger on her. Until I can find whoever accosted her, we must be careful,” one hand rose to cup her face in an effort to soothe her fears. “Please do not worry, Amelia. Nothing will happen to our children.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia visibly calmed down under his resolute gaze and determined tone, her fingers gently grazed his and she nodded her head, “O-okay.” She focused on controlling her breathing and waited until she had blinked away the tears and regained her composure before tentatively turning around, ready to make her way back to Kari’s bedside, but Loki stopped her with a hand on her arm.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s something else.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki didn’t sound as grave this time, and Amelia looked at him questioningly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aster spoke today.” He stated it bluntly and sounded hesitant, like he didn’t know whether to be excited about it or not, and for a moment Amelia wasn’t sure she believed her husband, but after everything he had just told her, she knew there was no reason he would make such a thing up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” She whispered, mouth falling open again, this time in disbelief. Amelia glanced back at Aster, then back to her husband, and proceeded to switch her gaze between them at least four times in the span of a few seconds. “She actually talked? What did she say?” She continued to speak in hushed tones, forcing herself not to make a big deal out of it, but in her chest her heart was hammering with anticipation and excitement. Her daughter had spoken aloud? With her </span>
  <em>
    <span>voice? </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes…” Loki’s furrowed eyebrows twitched, “It was because she was scared, and I… I wasn’t paying attention to her signing,” a wave of shame rolled over him, “I had hoped Aster speaking her first words would have been under… better circumstances.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia understood then why Loki seemed so reserved about what should have been a momentous occasion, “What did she say?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki sighed, “It was just after I found her and I was chasing down the culprit. She said ‘daddy, I want to go home’, and that was all.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia worried her lower lip between her teeth and then gave Loki a weak smile, “So… you were her first word?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki found himself slowly giving her a subtle smile as he remembered the days before either of his children could speak where he and Amelia had had a friendly little competition to get Kari to say ‘dada’ or ‘mama’ first respectively. ‘Mama’ had been Kari’s first word, and now ‘daddy’ was Aster’s first word; as much as Loki wished he could celebrate and rejoice in the fact, the conditions under which Aster had said the word left him unable to fully enjoy it. Still, it had been beyond sweet to hear his daughter say the word. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe she’ll speak more often?” Amelia murmured quietly, glancing back at the girl, “I… really wanna hear her talk,” she admitted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I hope so too,” Loki agreed, “I’m sure when she’s ready… she will talk again.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia nodded lightly. She returned to Kari’s bedside, leaning over to cuddle her children securely, “Give me a hug, darlings.” The twins welcomed the affection and snuggled into their mother contentedly; Aster seemed more at ease now that she was safe within the palace beside her mother and brother, Loki was glad for it.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Amelia pulled back, Aster looked to her father and signed ‘flower’ with her hands, prompting Loki to remember the bouquet he had bought for Amelia. He peered down into the bag, checking the gift was still fully intact and hadn’t gotten damaged in all the excitement earlier in the marketplace; the hydrangea blooms were fine, so Loki walked around the bed and sat down next to Aster, smiling warmly at his wife.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aster and I got you something.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Amelia blinked, curious as she looked between her daughter and her husband, “Oh?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki revealed the bouquet from his shoulder bag, feeling a rush of delight when Amelia’s eyes lit up. She loved receiving flowers. Even after feeling the rising anxiety over Aster’s safety, a pretty bouquet of blooms could still put a smile on Amelia’s face; it was particularly cute the way her hand covered her mouth, fingers brushing her lips, making her appear reticent and bashful.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You got me hydrangeas?” Amelia murmured happily, identifying the blooms immediately. She took the bouquet tentatively, her fingers lightly brushing against the pink and blue petals, “They’re beautiful… thank you.” She sounded genuinely surprised that Loki had thought to get them for her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aster picked them out,” Loki stated, fondly running his hand through the girl’s hair, “didn’t you, little flower?” His daughter nodded timidly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh honey, I love them, thank you so much lovely,” Amelia leaned down and kissed her daughter’s forehead, and Aster appeared happy at the praise. Examining the flowers with clear captivation, Amelia continued, “You know, these flowers have a special meaning, namely gratitude and sincerity. It’s a very sweet thing to give somebody flowers… a meaningful gesture,” she spoke adoringly. It was clear she was thinking of all the times Loki had gifted her a pretty bouquet, something that never failed to put a smile on her face.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki leaned down and whispered into Aster’s ear, “Told you so,” prompting the girl to giggle. The sound of her little laughter alleviated a lot of his concern for Aster’s mental wellbeing; she was definitely shaken by her experience today but she seemed in a rush to sweep it under the rug and get back to her regular self. Loki would continue to do everything he could to make sure she felt safe and secure within the palace.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you gedda treat?” Kari interjected, recalling his dad’s promise to bring him something sweet and healing for him to eat. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh no, we forgot!” Loki gave a fake gasp, which brought perhaps the biggest sad pout he’s ever seen on the boy’s face, so he quickly threw the lie out the window, “I’m just </span>
  <em>
    <span>kidding, </span>
  </em>
  <span>of course we got you a treat.” Just as quickly, Kari’s big grin returned and he waited in anticipation as Loki pulled the little box out of his shoulder bag and opened it up to reveal the cupcakes. “Your favourite, a vanilla iced cupcake, but this one has sweet cherries inside it. Now remember, you have to eat </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>of it, not just the icing.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kari was more into the icing than the sponge, and on several occasions he had wasted a perfectly good sponge cake by only eating the decor on top. The boy smiled sheepishly and held his hand out, murmuring a quiet “Peas.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Since you asked so nicely,” said Loki as he handed the cupcake to his son. He wasn’t overly fussed about sticky hands or crumbs in the bed when he could just snap his fingers and have a maid come and change the sheets. The happy noises Kari made as he bit into the treat were adorable and a pleasure to hear given the boy’s state of unwellness. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Fank you,” Kari thanked through the mouthful of cake, and Loki smiled warmly at the show of manners.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re welcome, little one.” Loki proceeded to give Aster her cupcake and then pulled Amelia’s treat out of his bag.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Love,” Loki caught Amelia’s attention while she positioned the hydrangeas in the vase atop the dresser across the room and fawned over them, she turned and caught sight of the raspberry muffin her husband had brought her and gasped, happily scurrying back to the bed to accept it graciously.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you darling!” Amelia looked overjoyed and rewarded her husband with a kiss that was sweeter than all the treats combined. Loki sighed into the kiss and tilted his head back, deepening it ever so slightly. Amelia nuzzled her nose against his when she pulled away, giving him a knowing look that basically said </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘thank you for the muffin, you’ll get your full reward later tonight when the kids have gone to bed.’</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki chuckled quietly to himself as he watched his family indulge, but held off on doing so himself with the pastry he’d bought. Instead, he took his shoulder bag off and laid it on the bed - he’d be back for it later, but for now he needed to find his brother and have a stern talk with him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He stood, smoothing out his attire free of creases and announced his temporary departure, “I’m going to see Thor, I won’t be long.” He had already begun walking around the bed and towards the door when a little voice loudly exclaimed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“No!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>All eyes turned to Aster, she had spoken yet again. Loki could see the shock on Amelia’s face at the sound of her daughter’s voice, and even Kari looked mildly surprised. Aster once again fell shy and reticent as everybody stared at her, and as such she tried to hide behind her cupcake.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki understood why she had spoken. She didn’t have to say a lot for him to know exactly what she was thinking.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay, Aster,” Loki returned to the bed to reassuringly pet her head, “you, your brother and your mother are all completely safe here. Nobody can get in. Svend is guarding the door like he always does and he won’t let anybody but me into this room, alright?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aster hesitantly nodded her head, looking up at him with her big round eyes that were slightly tearful from worry.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ll be alright,” he told her, “I won’t be long. I’ll be straight back here after I talk to Uncle Thor.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She gave another stronger nod.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good girl.” He pinched her cheek lightly and then shared a look with Amelia, who felt highly empathetic to her daughter’s worries. Loki could tell she was just as shocked at hearing the sound of Aster’s voice for the first time as he had been.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, hang tight. Don’t eat my pastry while I’m gone.” He winked, leaving on a humorous note, despite the fact that he was completely serious and knew that the kids would easily sniff the chocolate twist out if he was gone too long.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Brother.” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki’s snapping voice echoed throughout the inner courtyard as he marched down the steps and across the cobbled stone path, towards the bench nestled amongst colourful, flowery bushes beside a pond and water fountain.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thor lifted his gaze calmly away from Inga - they looked as though they had been in the middle of a romantic, affectionate little break given how closely they were sitting beside each other, she was practically sitting in his lap - and looked to his irritable sibling. He was unfazed by Loki’s vexed tone, which made sense given how often he had heard it over the years.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Is something wrong, Loki?” Thor enquired curiously.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why was I not informed of the villager reported missing?” The sneer on Loki’s face was evident of his disdain and exasperation for being left in the dark over something that was clearly significant.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thor tilted his head, “Oh. It was going to be brought up in the next advisory meeting tomorrow afternoon, I did not think it was urgent that you be informed. The captain of the guard has already been briefed on the issue.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki grit his teeth together. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know, </span>
  </em>
  <span>you oaf. I just spoke with him a short while ago. What made you think it wasn’t significant for me to know that an Asgardian had gone </span>
  <em>
    <span>missing.” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Inga raised her eyebrows over the prince’s haughty, overwrought demeanour, and quickly decided she wasn’t going to stay and stand awkwardly in the middle of the brothers’ shouting match should it occur, so she placed her hand on Thor’s arm and gave him a soft and apologetic smile.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m heading back to the infirmary, I need to check on a concoction I’m brewing. I’ll see you later this afternoon,” there was a hint of suggestiveness in her voice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thor leaned down and kissed her, “Of course. See you later.” After his lover walked off, Thor turned back to Loki, visibly displeased that Loki had interrupted his alone time with partner, and frowned deeply as he asked, “What’s this about, Loki?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I expect you to keep me up to date on notable events. A missing person is a </span>
  <em>
    <span>notable </span>
  </em>
  <span>event,” Loki huffed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thor narrowed his eyes as he tried to figure out exactly why his brother was so bothered by the development, “You only just got back to Asgard a couple days ago… I thought you might’ve wanted time to acclimate and settle in before getting back to business.” It was true that Loki and his family had just returned from living in Stark Tower for several months, but that didn’t mean Loki wasn’t ready to return immediately to his position as Thor’s Chief Advisor.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aster was almost kidnapped earlier.” Loki spat it out bluntly, and if it wasn’t for the gravity of his remark, he probably would’ve found Thor’s double-take to be amusing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“What?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Thor’s voice boomed across the courtyard, full of anger and incredulity. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Kidnapped? </span>
  </em>
  <span>By whom? Who would dare try and seize the young princess?” It was clear the thought enraged Thor, and in a way it was relieving for Loki to see such a reaction - it merely showed that Thor comprehended the weight of what he had told him, and that he was ready to punish whoever had committed the atrocity.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Of course, Thor was fiercely protective of his niece and nephew, and if he could help it, nothing terrible would ever happen to the twins.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s the problem, I don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>know. </span>
  </em>
  <span>If I had been informed of this missing person, I wouldn’t have taken my daughter down to the market without any added supervision. I would have requested a guard escort,” Loki sighed, “I lost sight of her for less than two minutes, and she was almost taken. I didn’t see who it was, but Aster gave a very basic description of the man that accosted her and Sigeric thinks there may be a connection between this and the missing person.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thor stared wide eyed for a few moments, “I’m sorry for not informing you sooner, brother. Is… is Aster alright?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki shook his head slightly, “She’s very shaken. She was so scared that she actually spoke earlier. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Out loud, </span>
  </em>
  <span>I mean, said she wanted to go home.” Thor’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, he almost seemed more shocked over Aster’s demonstration of speech than the attempted kidnapping.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thor appeared to flounder for a few moments, “I… will be looking into this incident. We will have our best guards put on this case and they will report straight to us if they find anything even slightly suspicious. Again, I am sorry brother. I will keep you completely up to date with any and all information from now on. In the coming days, it may be worth questioning Aster to see if she can tell us anything more about what occurred. This will not happen again.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Loki eyed Thor silently for a moment and then nodded, satisfied by Thor’s serious response, “Good.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>HOPE Y'ALL ENJOYED! I'm excited to see what you all think of THAT little show.</p>
<p>Please leave a comment, it took a lot to get this chapter out and I appreciate each and every little bit of recognition I get in the comments. Simply hearing that you guys have enjoyed a chapter gives me a little shot of happiness :)</p>
<p>I TOTALLY WANNA DISCUSS A FEW THINGS!!!</p>
<p>Firstly, WHO'S BEEN WATCHING WANDAVISION!? Oh my god, I'm hooked on it. I am seriously loving it, also, that theme song at the end of the most recent episode? You know the one. No spoilers if you haven't seen it but DAMN that song is a banger! xD</p>
<p>Secondly, although this fic still has quite a few chapters left, I have been thinking about what I would be writing after this instalment of the series is completed and I had a few ideas:</p>
<p>1) AU mini-fics for the Loki/Amelia romance, anyone? I'm talking like mermaid au, teacher/student college AU *suggestive eyebrow wiggling*, hell even a coffee shop AU? Literally anything like that, just their meeting/romance reimagined in a different scenario in short stories.</p>
<p>2) I intend for Hydrangeas to finish with the twins being around 7 or 8 years old? So quite a few years left to go through, BUT I could totally write about this little family in later years? Teenage years? </p>
<p>3) I've been toying with the idea of somehow incorporating the Loki show into this fic. Obviously it probably wouldn't happen until after the Loki show has aired so I can get a little idea about what alternate reality Loki is going through, but I just thought to myself one day 'what would happen if alternate reality Loki (the one from the show) popped up in the Language of Flowers timeline?' Angry bitter post-Avengers Loki meets OUR Loki and his family - his wife and children. I'm sure there would be a little chaos. The idea seemed interesting so that's a MAYBE if anyone would be interested in that.</p>
<p>4) I've literally already gotten people asking about if I would write the oneshot where Amelia inevitably dies from old age around 300 years old, which would be angsty as FUCK, but I'm sure I can find away to tie it into a happy ending - but I'd still definitely try and make y'all cry if I'm gonna be writing on that subject matter xD</p>
<p>Anyway, please share your thoughts on what you would be interested in, I may keep a sort of tally and then end up writing what people want the most :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0036"><h2>36. An Old “Acquaintance”</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Loki and Amelia teach their children about 'stranger danger'.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here's a smaller chapter than usual but still almost 5k words! I hope you guys enjoy this one, it was very fun to write! xD</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>For a few hours four days a week, Aster and Kari attended their early education with their tutor in the library; the security was ramped up to the point that there were two guards on each entrance and exit, with an additional two guards standing watch at the back of the room while the children were taught simple mathematics, the alphabet, and how to write.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After just one week, Kari could count to fifteen and Aster could write her name and a few three letter words like ‘dog and ‘cat’.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia was pleasantly shocked by their impressive ability to grasp numbers and letters so quickly, while Loki was unsurprised but proud; it wasn’t abnormal for them to be so swift to understand how to write and do sums given how quickly he himself picked it up as a child, but that didn’t stop him from praising the kids readily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wouldn’t make the same mistake his father made with him; as a child his achievements were never enough for Odin, he always needed to try harder, but no matter how hard he tried with his studies, his father was never impressed. While Loki was going to encourage his children to study hard, he wasn’t going to be sparing with telling them how brilliantly they were doing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Positive reinforcement worked wonders, as he had learnt years ago with Amelia during her self defense classes with Natasha. Congratulating his wife on doing a good job worked a million times better than telling her she needed to try harder, and it was the same with Aster and Kari.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m so proud of you two,” Loki told his children as they all walked through the gardens to Aster and Kari’s favourite playing spot. The sight of their smiling faces filled him with warmth and made him feel like he must have been doing something right to be awarded such a visage.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had a little surprise planned for the kids, but it wasn’t going to be ready for a few weeks; he’d arranged for a small playhouse and a wooden jungle gym-esque climbing frame to be built so that his kids had something even more exciting than a flat space and some pretty flower bushes to play amongst. He’d been informed that a woodworker was coming to the palace shortly to plan out the area and take measurements so that they could begin working as soon as possible; he’d have to formulate an excuse to keep his children away from the gardens for a while as their rewards were being constructed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the meantime, they were happy rushing around like little gremlins, chasing each other and playing pretend. It was amazing to deliberate on the imagination of a child, Loki had no recollection of playing ‘pretend’ when he was their age, but maybe he just didn’t have the correct inspiration. Apparently, Kari liked to imagine he was Spider-Man with his penchant for attempting to climb everything in sight while Aster enjoyed mimicking her favourite animals, be it flapping her arms like she was a bird or hopping around like a bunny rabbit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki and Amelia hadn’t just taken their children to the gardens for them to play, however, they simply wanted them to be in a comfortable and familiar place so that they could teach the kids about ‘Stranger Danger.’ </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After what happened the previous week, it was apparent they needed to be taught what to do in the unlikely event that something similar were to happen again, </span>
  <em>
    <span>just in case.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Of course, Loki intended to do everything in his power to ensure it </span>
  <em>
    <span>wouldn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>happen. Ever again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kari, Aster, can you come over here for a few minutes, please?” Amelia called the little ones over as she and Loki sat on the bench, trying to appear as though the subject matter they wanted to discuss with their children wasn’t frightening. They didn’t want to scare the kids, but it was beyond important that they understand.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Roarrrr!” Kari growled playfully as he chased his sister, who was squealing and giggling, all the way over to where their parents sat, but upon seeing the serious expressions on their faces, the two of them grew a little timid and quiet. The children were always very receptive to their mum and dad’s emotions, it was one of the things that showed Loki just how intelligent they were for such a young age.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“C’mere,” Amelia held out her arms, putting on a brilliant smile, and gave the children reassuring hugs once they approached, “Your daddy and I need to talk to you about something important, so I want you both to open up your ears and be sure to listen, okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari and Aster looked between their mother and father and nodded tentatively.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We want to talk to you about what you should do if we’re outside the palace or in public in Manhattan and you become separated and can’t find us. Specifically what you should do if somebody you don’t know tries to get you to go with them,” Loki clarified bluntly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster comprehended very quickly that the topic of concern was regarding what had happened to her, and she began fidgeting with her hands, wringing them together and avoiding eye contact. She looked almost ashamed of what had happened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” Loki murmured, opening his arms and pulling her in for a hug, “what happened wasn’t your fault, okay?” The girl had slowly gotten past what occurred last week, but any mention or allusion to it seemed to trigger an unease in her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia pursed her lips as she tried to think of a way to word the very important lesson they were about to teach the children; she and Loki had discussed the previous night how the best way to approach the subject was and they disagreed on </span>
  <em>
    <span>how </span>
  </em>
  <span>to educate them. Amelia was intent on keeping the lesson light without using any frightening terminology as she didn’t want to scare the kids, while Loki didn’t see the point in sugar-coating anything and felt the best way was to just be blunt and serious about it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It pained Amelia that they had to warn them of these things at such a young age, but it was unfortunately necessary for the future of their own safety. They needed to know the dangers of unknown people.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“In the unlikely event that we get separated in the future, there are </span>
  <em>
    <span>some </span>
  </em>
  <span>people out there who… who might get </span>
  <em>
    <span>confused, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and… may think that you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>their </span>
  </em>
  <span>children instead of ours, so they might try and take you when we’re not looking,” Amelia began with an abundance of tact, pausing to find words that could serve as a warning rather than instill fear into the little ones.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster and Kari looked puzzled, like they weren’t entirely following, and Amelia worried her lower lip between her teeth as she realised what she was saying probably seemed vague and baffling to the kids rather than coherent.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why... they would think that we are theirs?” Kari murmured, his words carrying an undertone of concern, “I don’t want a mama that’s not you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia gave a sad smile at the boy’s soft admission and brushed the back of her fingers against her son’s cheek, “Don’t worry bug, that’s not gonna happen. I’m the only mama you’re gonna have, I promise,” she assured him and then tried to answer his question, “and, well, the people that get confused might be… ill, like they don’t think the same way we do, or they might want to take you, because you’re…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki spoke up as his wife trailed off, a little irritated at her lack of diction and choice to speak in such a non-specific way, “You’re the prince and princess of Asgard, which makes you very important people. There are good and bad people out there, and most of the time the people you meet are good and will happily help you, but some of them are bad and intend to do harm, and unfortunately you cannot tell them apart easily, because they will try and make you think they’re good people, to deceive you. They might want to kidnap you because they want something in return, and would only give you back once they have it.” He frowned, “But there are some who might not even give you back, because they are wretched and villainous… and they might just want to hurt you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He felt that being precise, firm and sharp was the way to go, but the children’s eyes were wide and afraid, and Amelia was glaring at him in his peripheral vision.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But the chances of something like that happening are extremely small!” Amelia quickly interjected, which sort of contradicted the fact that it had almost just happened last week, “I mean, the chances of it ever happening again are… practically impossible. We’re going to do everything to make sure that doesn’t ever happen. But it means that you have to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>careful </span>
  </em>
  <span>when we’re in the marketplace or anywhere outside of Avengers Tower back in Manhattan. That means, </span>
  <em>
    <span>no </span>
  </em>
  <span>wandering off or running away from us,” Amelia noticed that Aster flinched slightly under that rule, knowing that she had done exactly that, “you always have to stay close by, you have to hold our hands when we tell you to, okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They nodded their heads in understanding.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And if we </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>get separated,” Loki spoke tightly, despising the hypothetical notion with his entire being, “and somebody you don’t know, someone you’ve never met before tries to tell you to go with them, even if they say they know us or that they’re friends with us, then you </span>
  <em>
    <span>scream </span>
  </em>
  <span>as loud as you can. You understand?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The kids nodded yet again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you do, if they try to take you?” Loki asked, checking that they had been paying attention.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Scream loud!” Kari repeated enthusiastically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Loki smirked slightly and then turned to Aster, waiting for her to answer the same.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He expected her to sign the answer, so he was hit with another wave of surprise when she timidly whispered, “Scream loud…” in her tiny little voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia gasped audibly. It was the first time she’d heard her daughter speak, and Loki could see out of the corner of his eye that she was working hard to contain her surprise and delight, trying not to make a big deal out of it in case it caused Aster to shy away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki smiled, running a hand through her straight black hair, “Yes. Very good.” Aster’s lips formed a ghost of a smile at the praise. “And the two of you… be sure to always look out for each other.” He wanted his children to have a stronger sibling relationship than he and Thor did when they were younger.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good,” Amelia repeated, a slight waver in her voice as she continued to get over her shock at Aster’s precious voice, “That’s all we wanted to talk to you about. You two can go back to playing now, if you want to.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster and Kari looked hesitantly at each other and then silently decided that they did want to resume playing; Aster took off first and Kari chased her around the garden once more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia let out a breath of relief, glad that they weren’t traumatised at how bluntly Loki had explained the dangers of unknown people out there in the world, and then she promptly covered her face with her hands and badly suppressed a squeal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god. She’s so </span>
  <em>
    <span>cute. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She talks just like you! How precious, oh god she’s so adorable. </span>
  <em>
    <span>She’s so cute!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia gushed quietly over her daughter, and Loki chuckled slightly as Amelia latched onto his arm and shook him, unable to contain herself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know,” Loki agreed fondly. He took a moment to observe the children and the smile on his face slowly dropped as he watched them play, their innocent grinning faces bright and happy and naive, and feared the thought of anything bad happening to either of them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong, love?” Amelia noticed the melancholic expression on his face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki sighed and shook his head, pausing before answering his wife, “I want to hold them and never let go. I don’t want to ever take my gaze off of them for a moment. I fear what I would do if anything bad ever happened to them…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia rubbed her hand up and down his arm comfortingly, “Loki… nothing bad will happen to them.” It was oddly amusing, usually Amelia was the one who was anxious and Loki was the one assuring her, not the other way around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But after what happened last week, Loki wasn’t convinced that something diabolical wasn’t underway at that very moment; he continued to think back to the figure he chased, wishing he’d ran just a little faster and caught them. For now, he was forced to think of all the ways his momentary lack of speed might come back to bite him in the arse one day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In his deep thoughts, he didn’t even notice someone approaching from behind them until a hand clamped onto his shoulder with far too much familiarity than he was used to.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia watched as her husband practically jumped a mile when a hand reached out of nowhere and landed on his shoulder; she was startled by his alarm and blinked wide eyes at Loki as he summoned a blade within a fraction of a second of the contact and swung round, lifting the weapon threateningly, poised to bring it down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then he froze, the blade disappearing as he eyed who had greeted him so boldly. There was brief silence and Amelia too took in the sight of the man standing behind the bench, still with his hand on Loki’s shoulder; he was just as tall, if not taller, than Loki himself, but this man had long ginger hair down past his shoulders, a few stray braids hanging down behind his ears, a beard that was a couple inches long, a handsome face and shining hazel-coloured eyes - he looked like a typical rough, rugged Asgardian man. The strange man was smirking, and Amelia was beyond confused at what she was witnessing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man let out a low whistle and then spoke with a deep, rich voice, “Nice to know you’re still as </span>
  <em>
    <span>feisty </span>
  </em>
  <span>as you’ve always been, Loki.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki appeared offended by the comment and slapped the man’s hand away, “Get </span>
  <em>
    <span>off </span>
  </em>
  <span>of me Brynjar,” he hissed, “why are you here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man, Brynjar, let out a deep laugh, “I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>summoned </span>
  </em>
  <span>here, darling.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia’s eyebrows shot up at the casual use of the pet name this man gave her husband, and looked between him and Loki with her jaw agape, her expression entirely baffled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Touch me like that again and I’ll have you thrown in a dungeon cell,” Loki threatened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Brynjar put on a very fake pout, “It was never a problem before,” the smirk came back and he added in a wink, and the unanticipated </span>
  <em>
    <span>flirty </span>
  </em>
  <span>tone almost knocked Amelia over. She eyed Loki, waiting for him to elaborate on just who this man was and why he was talking to him in this way, but Loki seemed to be purposely avoiding eye contact with her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki made a noise of exasperation in the back of his throat, “Explain yourself. Why are you here?” His vocal cords sounded taut and he radiated an aura of discomfort. Amelia had never seen her husband acting quite like this.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I suppose you don’t know, do you? Ever since we landed here on Earth, I’ve been working as a woodworker! I was contracted to build for a project here in the palace gardens… by </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>I believe?” He looked like the cat that ate the canary, distinctly smug as he revealed why he was here.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia realised suddenly that this man was the contractor Loki had mentioned offhandedly, the one who was here to take the measurements for the jungle gym and playhouse Loki wanted him to build.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t know it would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>you,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki murmured with disdain, looking rather resigned to the fact.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Surprise, darling.” Brynjar once again used that word, a little twinkle in his eye.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Stop,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki groaned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stop what?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know what.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stop </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Brynjar repeated, chuckling slightly and shrugging his shoulder like he really didn’t see what the big deal was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can’t call me </span>
  <em>
    <span>darling, </span>
  </em>
  <span>moron. We’re not involved anymore.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Involved? Like… in a relationship? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia was once again almost knocked over by the revelation that she was currently standing in the presence of </span>
  <em>
    <span>one of Loki’s exes. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It seemed abundantly clear all of a sudden with how the men interacted with each other, how Brynjar spoke to Loki in a way that definitely did not mirror how a prince and his subject would usually interact. Amelia’s cheeks flushed suddenly and she grew flustered at the thought of her husband and this man… </span>
  <em>
    <span>together.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Loki, who is this man?” Amelia squeaked, though she was sure she already knew.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki finally looked at her and responded calmly and quickly, “Just an old acquaintance, love.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia had known Loki long enough to know that he got a certain way whenever he lied, and the fact that he went from exasperated and irritable to utterly and entirely composed the moment she voiced her question just said it all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luckily, Brynjar was quick to correct the prince.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s a pleasure to meet you, you must be princess Amelia,” he bowed his head respectfully, “I am Brynjar. Loki and I used to be lovers.” He was so… uncompromisingly forthright.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia noticed Loki rolling his eyes in her peripheral and sent him a look, a little bit annoyed that he tried to lie about who Brynjar really was, though she supposed she understood why he wanted to hide it. It was a little bit of an awkward meeting.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She cleared her throat, “Um, yes… nice to meet you.” Her cheeks grew pink as she immediately began to picture Loki and this man in bed together, and then she inwardly scolded herself for that being the absolute first thought that passed through her perverted mind, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>then</span>
  </em>
  <span> she was simply hit with a wall of jealousy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Brynjar was a very handsome man. What had his and Loki’s relationship been like? He’d said they were lovers, which suggested more than a one night stand or a simple fling. Had Loki been in </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>with this man? How good was he in bed? Was he more satisfying to Loki than she was?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t notice she was glaring at the man until he gave her an awkward smile and cleared his throat too, “Yes, um… well, you’re quite a stunning woman. I’m not surprised that little Loki here married someone as pretty as you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Firstly, Amelia’s jealousy stalled at the compliment, the man sounded genuine and not like he was lying his way into her good books or anything like that, and she immediately flushed an even deeper shape of pink. Secondly, a ripple of amusement flowed through her at the fact he had called her husband </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘little’. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Brynjar must have been one of the only people who could get away with calling a 6’2 man little, given the fact that he looked to be just a little bit taller.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Glancing to her left, Amelia noticed that Loki looked one-hundred percent </span>
  <em>
    <span>done </span>
  </em>
  <span>with Brynjar’s playful jab, and yet he wasn’t gearing up to send the man away for insulting his pride, he seemed to just sort of accept it, which felt quite out of character for her husband.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just do the measurements, Bryn,” Loki grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Brynjar laughed, “Always so bossy, that’s what I like about you, darling.” Loki opened his mouth to protest the usage of the pet name again but Brynjar was already turning to walk around the bench and over to the green that Loki had marked as the building area for his children’s rewards.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia and Loki watched Brynjar begin to measure out the space for a few moments and then Amelia turned on her husband with narrowed eyes, “Care to explain what all that was about?” She put him on the spot, letting him know of her vexation through her indelicate tone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki breathed out a sigh of irritation, “I didn’t know </span>
  <em>
    <span>he </span>
  </em>
  <span>was the contracted woodworker. I would’ve requested somebody else.” His words really didn’t explain a lot, and Amelia continued to push.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s rather brazen,” Amelia remarked, hoping it would prompt a little more out of her husband, but Loki merely nodded his head in agreement. Unbelievable. It looked like she was just going to have to come out and ask.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Old acquaintance,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia mocked him, “and exactly how long were you and your acquaintance together for?” She knew that Loki had had a lot of lovers, that much he had told her before, and she had no problem with that fact whatsoever. It was the way he had tried to deceive her and make her think Brynjar was somebody else that infuriated her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki rolled his eyes, “Not long.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How long is ‘not long’?” Amelia inquired impatiently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki paused, “...A few years.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p><em><span>“A few years?” </span></em><span>Amelia’s mouth fell open. She had expected him to say a few months given what had had told her in the past about never having a relationship that lasted too long, but a few years was more of a big deal to Amelia. “That’s not a short amount of time, Loki! I’ve told you about guys I dated before, why have you never told me about this man? Since he was clearly more than a fling?” She would be lying if she said she wasn’t a bit jealous; she knew it was irrational because she and Loki were </span><em><span>married </span></em><span>with two beautiful children,</span> <span>but she couldn’t help but feel a little off with Brynjar’s display of behaviour and flirtatious attitude. </span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re forgetting I’m over a thousand years old, Amelia. A few years really isn’t a lot of time for me,” Loki groaned, “can we just talk about this later?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki’s deflection rubbed Amelia the wrong way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I wanna talk about it now,” she demanded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Running a hand through his hair, Loki sighed and mumbled annoyedly under his breath before giving in, “Look, I didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>him. I was young and infatuated, but I swear I’ve never been in love with anybody but you, trust me. We were together for maybe three or four years but I broke it off because he’s just… rather impudent and shameless. He was too clingy and I got tired of it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia gazed at her husband for a second and then bit her lip hard to avoid pouting; she pointed a finger to her chest and murmured, “But… I’m clingy too. Are you gonna get tired of me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki looked at her like she’d grown a second head, “Don’t be absurd.” He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close against his side, “Being with him was exhausting, he chose every opportunity to embarrass me just for the fun of it. Being with </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>is energising and… freeing. I’ll never get tired of you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia blushed at the compliment and gave him a subtle smile before hugging him tightly, “Sorry I got worked up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s alright. I was… startled by his presence. He’s a good person but he’s an idiot and far too coquettish for his own good. Next time he pushes our boundaries, I’ll deal with him accordingly,” Loki assured her, and Amelia was satisfied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“NOOOO!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia and Loki spun around at the sound of Kari’s loud cry. Brynjar had stepped a little too close to their playing area and Kari had grabbed the closest stick and launched himself to stand between his sister and the strange man he had never met.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Brynjar took a startled step back as the child held the stick up threateningly, like he was going to throw it at him, and he glanced briefly back at Loki and Amelia like he was unsure what to do. He looked to Kari again, “Uh, it’s okay little boy. I just need to get over there to take some measurements,” he pointed past where Kari and his sister were situated and then made a move to step around them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari jumped forward and whacked Brynjar’s shin with the stick he wielded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Brynjar jumped back, uninjured but surprised with his hands out defensively in front of him, he looked back to Loki and Amelia once again with an awkward look on his face, “Uh, Loki, darling, can you tell your boy not to attack me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki smirked, a flicker of smugness in his eyes, “My boy is simply defending his territory from outsiders.” There was a swell of pride in his chest at Kari’s display of bravery, how he had jumped up to immediately put himself between the stranger and his sister; he’d listened to what Loki and Amelia told him and did exactly as they had said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Brynjar just looked a bit confused by the situation and once again attempted to step around Kari, but Kari once again whacked his leg with the stick and shouted, “Go back!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki smiled, but offered a helping hand to the woodworker, “It’s okay, children. He won’t do you any harm, let him pass.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari lowered the stick, but continued to eye Brynjar with a serious stare that was all too funny to see on his young face; he turned and took his sister’s hand and led her back to where their mum and dad were sitting, finally allowing Brynjar to get to where he needed to be.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s a plucky little thing, isn’t he?” Brynjar remarked good-naturedly, “Just like his daddy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually, I think he gets his no-nonsense determination from his mother,” Loki responded, giving his wife a wink and a smile. Amelia grinned as Kari and Aster returned to them and she gathered Kari up in her arms as Aster climbed into Loki’s lap.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was very brave of you, well done bug,” Amelia kissed his cheek and the boy beamed at the praise.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Brynjar took the opportunity to finish up his measurements, jotting them down on a piece of parchment paper and scratched a hand through his wiry beard; the children stared at him warily as he walked back past the bench, “I’ve got all the information I need here. I’ll draw up some blueprints and then send them your way and once they’re approved, I’ll get to the construction.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good,” Loki said simply and dismissively, “Off you go then.” Anybody else would probably find his perfunctory words to be contemptuous or scathing, but Brynjar didn’t seem to get the memo, because he smiled brightly, eyes shining with mirth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I look forward to hearing your feedback on my design, I already have some great ideas!” Brynjar wagged his eyebrows at Loki and then winked at Amelia and moved past them, thankfully on his way out of the gardens.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia and Loki both breathed a sigh of relief.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What an interesting character you dated,” Amelia remarked quietly in amusement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki opened his mouth to respond to his wife’s sly comment, but swallowed his reply when Brynjar suddenly reappeared again, his hands on both Loki’s and Amelia’s shoulder as he popped his head between them from behind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh! One last thing, if you two are ever up for a threesome, you know where to find me!” Amelia gasped and clamped her hands down over Kari’s innocent ears, the boy’s face tilted in blissful unawareness. “Farewell, darlings!” Brynjar exclaimed, and then left quickly like he knew he had said something that was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>bit </span>
  </em>
  <span>too cheeky.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki stammered for a moment, wanting to reprimand the man for his brash comment, but not wanting to escalate the situation while his children were sitting right there with puzzling and unsure expressions; Brynjar was already leaving the garden and if Loki were to yell or chase him down, it would probably prompt questions from the kids. It was easier to let it go for the moment and chew him out the next time they crossed paths.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well,” Amelia said, almost speechless, “I don’t know what to say.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Next time I see him, I will clobber him, rest assured,” Loki promised.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Firstly, Brynjar is totally a Himbo. Dashingly handsome but he's a few chicken nuggets short of a happy meal if you know what I mean. I hope you guys enjoy him as a silly character and one of Loki's exes! GASP! I'd been thinking about including an interaction like this for a while and finally managed to fit it in. We do love a little bit of jealous Amelia xD</p><p>Secondly, I have this idea for this story that is a little ambitious and I think you'd all enjoy it but I'm totally nervous about it, I'll give you a one word clue... 'Jotunheim' ;) </p><p>I love hearing your theories guys, please do share them in the comments!</p><p>Also, everyone watched the WandaVision finale right? And omg, the line from Vision a few episodes ago... "What is grief, if not love persevering?" KILLED ME. MY ROMANTIC HEART CRIED OVER THAT LINE. Most beautiful line in the show ;_;</p><p>Excited to see your comments guys!!! Please share your thoughts! ^_^</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0037"><h2>37. Jump In</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The kiddies go swimming for the first time in this chapter!</p><p>Hope you enjoy this one, it's a little short and kinda filler-y but I needed a little more time before the plot gets thrown back into action xD</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll catch you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki stood in the palace pool, the water up to his stomach as he held out his hands and beckoned his daughter to jump in and land safely in his arms.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia had bought the kids little swimsuits and inflatable rings and armbands before they returned to Asgard a few weeks back, and she’d had the foresight to bring them along under the surmise that the Summer weather was getting a little too warm, and it was about time they taught the children how to swim. Or, at least, they wanted to acclimate them to the water before they hired a professional to teach the kids how to swim.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki was comfortable in the fact that Amelia was holding onto Kari the whole time while he was watching Aster, that way there wasn’t a moment where either of the children weren’t being surveyed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari took well to the water, splashing with his hands while Amelia guided him around with a hand on his inflatable ring, never once taking an eye off him. He was smiling, vocally excited, and giggled joyfully as he floated through the water.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster was a little more apprehensive, she could see that the water was deep and it put her off, but she probably didn’t understand that the flotation ring and armbands she was wearing would stop her from sinking in. She had put up a bit of a fuss when Loki had initially picked her up and started getting into the pool via the steps, so he had placed her down on the step where the water reached up to her knees and waited for her to decide herself when to advance.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>However, nothing seemed to be able to convince her. Seeing Kari and Amelia swimming around in the water did not convince her, and seeing Loki sink down to his shoulders and then reemerge perfectly fine did not convince her either.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki didn’t want to hurry her or force her into any discomfort by picking her up and taking her into the pool. As a child, he had been forced to swim before he even knew how, and it had been a traumatic experience; he would not do the same to his daughter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’ll be fine, I won’t let you go under,” he beckoned her again, holding out his hands expectantly, “You trust me, don’t you Aster?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster paced slowly back and forth along the edge of the pool, looking pouty and unsure in her adorable light green floral swimsuit, clutching her yellow rubber ring at her waist. She turned around and walked to the bench a few steps away where their towels were piled up and climbed onto it with quite a bit of trouble thanks to the armbands and ring. She sat there and watched as Loki leaned on the edge, sinking his head onto his crossed arms as he stared at his daughter, trying desperately to figure out a way to urge her into the pool.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t you hot?” Loki asked. It was the middle of Summer and the sun was shining overhead; he knew that Aster being half Jotun definitely meant she was not faring well in the harsh sunlight beating down on them. “The water is nice and cool.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nope. Aster looked entirely unswayed. She appeared more than ready to face the heat of the sun rather than the frightening depths of the pool. All the while Kari was giggling audibly behind him, his laughter should have been everything Aster needed to realise that it was fun and safe to swim while their parents were there with them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on,” Loki tried, “once you get in, you’ll have so much fun. What are you so afraid of?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster shook her head, frowning.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t even have to jump in, I’ll hold onto you the entire time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster’s gaze remained pinned to him just as she remained pinned to the bench. Loki let out a sigh, glancing over his shoulder at Amelia and Kari.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Kari. Why don’t you tell your sister how much fun you’re having?” Loki prompted, hoping his son would be able to persuade his sister to join them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s fun in the water!” Kari obliged, calling out to his twin as he splashed his palms against the surface of the water. “Come on! Come in! Come in!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine, sweetheart, daddy will hold onto you the whole time,” Amelia also encouraged the girl, showing her that she had a secure hold on Kari, “and you’ll be extra safe with your rubber ring and armbands.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster made a whining noise in the back of her throat, shaking her head again. Loki sighed again. This wasn’t going anywhere fast, so he pushed himself up on the edge of the pool, climbing out of the water. He was dripping wet as he crossed over to the bench and moved the pile of towels aside to sit beside his daughter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong, hm? Can you tell me why you don’t want to go in the water?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster looked up at her father with wide eyes and then crawled onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck; Loki bent his head down, encouraging her to whisper in his ear, and the girl tentatively whispered, “The water is scary.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki straightened up, locking eyes with his daughter as a look of curiosity fell over him; he didn’t understand exactly why Aster was afraid to go in the water, she had never shown any fear when taking a bath before, so he remained baffled as to the reason.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why is the water scary?” He asked quietly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster looked back at it, her face forming an oddly worried expression, and then she signed, “Big.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki tilted his head, glancing to the pool and then back to his daughter. “Big?” he repeated, “You’re scared because the pool is a lot bigger than a bath? Are you scared you might go under the water?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster nodded meekly, peering up at him with glimmering eyes, and Loki gave his daughter a gentle, apologetic smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You have nothing to worry about, little flower.” He indicated her ring and armbands, “These will help you float, and I will never take my hands off you for a moment, okay? You won’t sink under, I promise you.” He paused for a moment, “I think your brother would very much like you to join in the fun, and while we’re at it, you can pretend to be a mermaid, like in that Disney movie… uh, what was her name?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Ariel!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kari yelled from the pool, followed by an adorable little gasp, “I wanna be a muh-maid! I wanna be one!” His exclamation had Amelia giggling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, Ariel.” Loki smirked, seeing the new spark of interest in his daughter’s eye. He knew for a fact that she held some interest in the idea of being a mermaid because she had been enamoured with </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Little Mermaid </span>
  </em>
  <span>when she had originally seen that movie some time ago. “Do you want to be a mermaid too?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster’s vibrant green eyes widened and shone with excitement as she nodded; it was clear she thought that was an excellent idea. Naturally, the temptation to be a mermaid would win out over her fear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you trust me to keep you safe in the water?” Loki asked his daughter. Before she could answer, a flicker of doubt attacked him. He had failed to keep her safe in the marketplace some weeks ago, was it possible she didn’t believe she was safe with him any longer? The thought was devastating to him, but he needn’t have worried, because Aster hit him with her brightest smile, wound her arms around his neck again and hugged him tightly while nodding her little head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She still trusted him to keep her safe, despite what had happened. Loki held his daughter close, looking past her into the pool where Amelia was giving him an adoring look. Loki rose from the bench with his daughter and approached the poolside once more, placing Aster down before slipping back into the pool. The water was pleasantly cool in comparison to the heat of the sun coming from above and he welcomed it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki raised his hands, “Come on, jump in,” he urged Aster, ready to catch her the moment she did.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster bit her lip, moving from one foot to the other as she gathered up her courage. She dipped forward and changed her mind at the last minute, oscillating in place in a way that was absolutely adorable. Her face held a look of nervous hesitation, and Loki gave her the warmest smile he could muster, holding out his hands again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally, Aster leaned forwards again, a little too far to stop herself if she wanted to, and she fell forward, face scrunching up as she anticipated falling in below the surface.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki caught her, of course, and the water didn’t even reach above her waist thanks to the inflatable ring and armbands keeping her afloat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yay! Well done!” Amelia praised joyfully and Kari echoed her excitement similarly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You were so brave,” Loki remarked, lifting his daughter to nuzzle his nose against hers, and the action pulled a giggle from Aster as her nerves sizzled down a little. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now we all muh-maids!” Kari exclaimed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster played with the water, running her hands through it curiously, a lot calmer now that she realised her father was right when he told her he wouldn’t let her slip below the surface. Once she was fully acclimated, Loki carried her and drifted over to Amelia and Kari, finally able to enjoy a light swim altogether.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They stayed in the pool for about thirty minutes before climbing out. Amelia and Loki towelled themselves and their children off, changing back into their royal Asgardian wear before redressing the kids. A little casual magic from Loki insured all of their hair dried in an instant, leaving them presentable.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Listen up. You two have been doing very well with your education, so I have a surprise waiting for you both in the gardens.” Loki explained as they exited the pool area. The children beamed at the mention of a surprise; they had been kept from the gardens while Brynjar worked on the woodworking to build what had been requested, and in the process Amelia and Loki had had to fabricate a reason as to why they couldn’t play in the gardens during that period. They hadn’t wanted the surprise spoiled, so Loki and Amelia had put up with the children asking almost daily whether they could go play in the palace gardens, and endured their pouty faces every time they’d had to deny them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The knowledge that they would now be able to play there again clearly enlivened them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster and Kari practically skipped through the halls, led by their father as they held hands with their mother, the two little ones entered the garden area and came face to face with two small, unfamiliar structures. Loki smirked at the sight, pleased with the work Brynjar had put in to create exactly what he’d asked for.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The jungle gym was like a little dream come true for Kari, with a whole lot to climb and a neat slide to boot, while the playhouse was built to look like a miniature cottage, with a small table and two chairs within, a toy chest, a tiny book shelf and a comfy cushioned nook to relax or read in. It was big enough that Loki could just about fit inside if he kept his head low.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Surprise, children.” Loki motioned the kids’ rewards with his hand and gave them a look that urged them to explore and inspect the new structures, and that was all they needed to dart towards them at high speeds - well, high speeds for a small child. They squealed in delight, and it brought Loki pure happiness to see his children so excited.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Loki,” Amelia murmured as she stepped up to his side and curled her arm around him, “they’re wonderful. Brynjar might be an odd person, but he did a good job here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki chuckled, nudging his wife closer to his side and letting his hand rest on her waist, “Yes, quite. I am pleased with the finished product, and from the look of it, so are they.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They took a moment to watch their children. Kari had already discovered the slide and was in a perpetual loop of climbing the steps and sliding down, his joy evident by his laughter, while Aster had entered the playhouse and was examining every new thing in sight.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I love seeing them happy.” Amelia remarked, her eyes somewhat cloudy with a far off look, and Loki wondered what she was thinking about.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As do I.” There was perhaps no greater joy than seeing his offspring grinning from ear to ear.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you remember… when you were worried that you wouldn’t be a good dad?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki scoffed, shaking his head. It had felt like so long ago when Amelia had been pregnant with them. It was more than three and a half years ago now that Loki found himself full of worry day to day that he would fail at being a father in some way. Now, although he didn’t feel those worries nearly as often, he always remained vigilant that he might say or do the wrong thing at any moment.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d say you had nothing to be afraid of,” Amelia smiled, tilting her head back to gaze up at her husband.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki hummed, locking eyes with his wife. “Yes, I’ve done well… so far,” he answered her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“So far,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> she parroted with a snort, “I don’t know how we could possibly fuck up now, we’ve gotten this far.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki shrugged his shoulders, “You never know. We might be greeted with a situation that we have no clue how to deal with, and everything will go downhill from there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be so pessimistic,” Amelia lightly poked him in the side, which was the wrong thing to do because she was immediately at the mercy of Loki’s long, tickling fingers digging into her ribs. She almost screamed, grabbing his wrist to pry his onslaught away, and Loki found it unequivocally hilarious. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Don’t you dare!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia snapped, though her lips tugged up at the edges into a smile she was trying so hard to hide.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki eased up on the tickling, allowing his wife time to recover before pulling her in and initiating a long, chaste kiss. A soft and sweet steady press of his lips to hers, and she sighed against his mouth, forgiving his attempt to start a tickle war.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they parted, Amelia sunk her head to his shoulder and whispered, “I love you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki kissed her forehead, “And I love you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They embraced for a few minutes, the Summer sun warm on their skin, but were interrupted when the pitter patter of Kari’s footsteps approached. He ran up, somewhat out of breath from repeatedly climbing and sliding down the slide on his new jungle gym, and stopped in front of Loki.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dada, I wanna ask a question!” Kari exclaimed, looking like he had something very important he needed to inquire about.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course, little one. Ask away.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari smiled and opened his mouth, “Where do </span>
  <em>
    <span>babies </span>
  </em>
  <span>come from?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki blinked, eyes widening, and his gaze flickered subtly to Amelia, whose jaw dropped at the inquiry. That was entirely unexpected, what in the world had prompted him to ask that?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh… um,” Loki murmured, uncharacteristically speechless. He cleared his throat, “What… what made you want to ask that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kari shrugged, “Cause I wanna know.” He blinked innocently up at his parents.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki hummed, inwardly trying to think of a way to answer his question without straying into territory that would only trigger more and more curiosity, “Well… uh, you see…” Loki let silence hang for just a moment and then held up a finger, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“-actually, </span>
  </em>
  <span>you know, your mother knows more about all that than I do, and I </span>
  <em>
    <span>think </span>
  </em>
  <span>I can hear Aster calling for me so...” he began stepping away, throwing his wife an amused, unapologetic glance as Amelia held her hands out as if to say ‘did you really just shovel all that over onto </span>
  <em>
    <span>me?’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>and quickly marched off towards the playhouse to avoid answering.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia was smart, she’d figure something out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the meantime, Loki knocked on the door of the playhouse, peering through one of the tiny aperture windows and waving to his daughter when she looked up from her toy box. She grinned and rushed over to open the door, ushering him in and closing it behind him; he had to lean over so as not to hit his head on the low ceiling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your house is very quaint, are you going to show me around?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster giggled and took his hand, escorting him to the table and chairs. “Sit,” she commanded, pointing at the tiny seat. It was far, far too small for him to sit comfortably in, because it was meant for Kari and Aster, not a fully grown adult, but he knelt down and sort of half sat on it in order to appease her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, are we having tea?” Loki inquired as Aster lifted a tray out of the toy box which had a wooden-carved teapot and two teacups. She nodded and placed it on the table, climbing up onto her own chair opposite him and began to pour the imaginary tea from the pot. After doing so, she offered Loki one of the teacups and observed as he took it, waiting patiently for him to take a sip of the imaginary liquid.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obviously, Loki had to abide. He took a fake sip and then hummed, “Ah, just how I like my tea.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster’s eyes shone and she nodded, taking a sip from her own empty cup. She soon became distracted again, peering into the toybox once again to see what other goodies had come with the house.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki leaned down and peered out the little square window, seeing Amelia knelt down in front of Kari and supposedly explaining to him where babies came from. Or perhaps she was making something up to avoid having to discuss the subject. Either way, Loki knew he was going to get an earful later for pulling the stunt he did. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He still didn’t know exactly why the question had arisen in Kari’s mind. Children were unpredictable. He hadn’t expected to have to answer a question like that for a long while yet, and as such he had been entirely unprepared. He didn’t like being caught off guard and unprepared, especially when it came to parenting his children. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Little did he know, there were more unexpected things to come, and he certainly wasn’t going to be prepared to face them.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So I got my first hate comments ever this week on ff.net, somebody hiding behind anon calling Amelia a terribly written 'weak' character and I legit wanted to laugh because this series has been going on for, what, over three years now? And nobody has ever said anything about Amelia being a bad character LOL. What a wild ride, but hey- it made me more determined to keep writing and proving them wrong because I just know so many of you love Amelia!</p><p>Okay, next chapter will be longer and funny - it's gonna be a prank/mischief war between Amelia and Loki with a little input from the kids, because I've wanted to write a chapter like that for freaking ages. And then AFTER that, the plot resumes, and guys... it's gonna be a crazy chapter. It will absolutely leave you all shook, so you've got that to look forward to ;) Specially all the angst lovers out there... mwahahahaha!</p><p>Please leave me a comment and prove that nasty anon wrong ;)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0038"><h2>38. It's All Fun and Games</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A prank war goes too far.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>LONG CHAPTER GUYS! LONG CHAPTER!!!!!! Omg, this was fun to write! I hope you guys enjoy this one because I took a lot of pleasure in writing it!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>It all started with a little harmless fun. Loki thought it was a funny idea to tiptoe up behind Amelia, grab her by the shoulders and yell </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘boo!’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>to scare the life out of her, and scare her it did. The resulting scream from his wife brought him endless amusement and he laughed openly as she turned around and gave him a look of murder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>funny,” Amelia claimed, but if it wasn’t funny, why was Loki laughing so hard?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He pulled himself together eventually, his laughter sizzling out into uncharacteristic giggles instead, and he gave her a charming smile as he kissed her forehead in apology, “Sorry love, I couldn’t resist. You’re adorable when you’re frightened.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia continued to glare up at him, and then ominously promised him one thing, “You keep this up, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>will </span>
  </em>
  <span>regret it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki snorted, finding the supposed threat empty. Nothing would come of his boundless little scare pranks on Amelia, she wasn’t the type to take revenge and she couldn’t exactly scare him in response. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t try, however.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A couple days later after Amelia and Loki had put the children to bed, they were getting ready to snuggle into their own bed for the night and Amelia had stepped into the bathroom to brush her teeth. As she approached the door to exit the bathroom, she halted, peering through the small gap in the ajar door and spotting Loki standing by the bed, changing into his pyjamas with his back turned to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bingo. The perfect opportunity to get back at her husband.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She pushed the door ever so carefully, opening it slowly to avoid making any noise and inadvertently making herself known; thankfully the door opened completely without even a creak. Loki was still distracted, his head turned away, and Amelia moved with tiny steps, confident that she wasn’t making any noise to bring attention to herself. Loki was none the wiser over her current position. He must’ve thought she was still in the bathroom cleaning her teeth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her eyes narrowed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>This </span>
  </em>
  <span>would teach him to catch her off guard and scare the life out of her, she was going to give him a taste of his own medicine, and he was going to swallow it down and </span>
  <em>
    <span>choke on it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She waited until she was just a few steps behind him, and then rushed forward, tackling him to the bed with a loud war cry.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Except she didn’t tackle him to the bed. She squealed in shock as she simply fell through him and her face planted hard against the thankfully soft duvet; her resulting flail lasted just a few seconds as her mind tried to catch up with her and figure out what had just happened, but it all became clear when she heard the telltale sound of his laughter moments later.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She pulled herself up and looked over her shoulder. Loki was hiding behind the bathroom door that she had pushed open, and the Loki that she’d tried to tackle was simply an illusion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her jaw hung open as Loki grinned at her, once again finding immense joy at the vexed look on her face, knowing he had gotten the better of her. It just so happened he had been planning on scaring her again, but had faltered upon seeing her pitiful attempt to sneak up on him with the intent to frighten him too.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I hope you know you could never sneak up on me. Your footsteps are far from subtle, even if you think you’re being quiet. I could hear you coming from a mile away, Amelia, you’d never succeed in scaring me.” Loki told her, smug, eyes glinting with mischief, and Amelia groaned, burying her face in her arms as she tried to push down her frustration.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clearly it would not be so easy. How exactly was she going to outwit the God of Mischief? He knew every trick in the book, Amelia doubted there was any cheap trick she could pull that Loki hadn’t already tried himself before, but she was nothing if not creative.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In her head, a plan formed. She was going to have to be a little cruel in order to pull one over on him, and at this point in their marriage, Amelia wasn’t above playing dirty. She knew </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly </span>
  </em>
  <span>how to scare him, and she </span>
  <em>
    <span>would </span>
  </em>
  <span>be successful.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Precisely three days later, Amelia waited until the children had gone to bed, because she didn’t really want them to be around to witness the prank on the off chance that it might traumatise them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was the same time of day, the same setting as when she’d last attempted to scare Loki, and she hoped that he wasn’t expecting it again or standing outside the door waiting to startle her yet again. She’d been about to hop into the shower, at least that’s what she told her husband, who was presumably getting changed or laying on the bed already; Loki wasn’t paying too much attention when she smuggled her important prop into the bathroom, wrapped in her bath towel, which would be particularly useful in her scare attempt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She pulled the item out from its bundled state within the towel and chewed her lip, wondering if it was really a good idea to do this. Was she taking it too far? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The bottle of red food dye in her hand stared back at her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She wasn’t planning to keep the prank up for very long, just the initial fright would be enough for her to be satisfied with her little revenge. It would teach Loki a lesson and that would be it, no further harm done.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia made up her mind and unscrewed the cap; she peered into the bottle, pleased that the liquid was dark in colour, perfect to replicate the look of freshly spilt blood. Oh, she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>evil for this idea.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She needed to make this seem realistic. She needed Loki to burst into the room and think she actually fell and hit her head. With perhaps a little too much joyful enthusiasm, she picked a spot on the floor and poured out a small puddle of fake blood before screwing the cap back on and hiding the bottle inside her towel once again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Right then.</span>
  </em>
  <span> She promptly knocked over the multiple bottles of shampoo and product lined up at one corner of the bath to cause a loud startling noise and then gave a convincing scream before quickly taking position, lying down with her head placed squarely in the centre of the goopy red dye.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Amelia?” Loki called through the door, having heard the commotion. He knocked twice and called again, “Amelia?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When his wife did not immediately respond, Loki opened the door and his eyes fell down to where Amelia was sprawled motionless, lying in a puddle of </span>
  <em>
    <span>red. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia kept her eyes closed as she heard the panicked hitch in Loki’s throat and not a moment later she felt him knelt at her side, urgently trying to rouse her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Amelia? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Amelia?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He called to her with urgency and cupped her cheek, tilting her head slightly to examine the injury. Amelia couldn’t keep up the prank any longer and snorted, opening her eyes to see the fear wash off Loki’s face to be replaced by disapproval and indignation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck, Amelia?” Loki snapped, inspecting the side of her head more clearly - there was no visible wound, just an abundance of sticky red across her skin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia snickered, “You said I’d never scare you… I was just proving you wrong!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki didn’t find the payback as amusing as Amelia did, “I thought you were hurt,” he growled, giving her a light shove and pressing her face further into the red liquid.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia sputtered, pulling away from the floor to smirk up at her husband, “Well maybe you should’ve thought twice about scaring me the other day, huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was harmless fun,” Loki responded with an affronted tone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well technically so was this. Nobody got hurt. Besides, I couldn’t resist. You’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>adorable </span>
  </em>
  <span>when you’re frightened.” Amelia raised her eyebrows as she parrotted his previous words back at him, her red-painted face radiating smugness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki made a noise of annoyance in the back of his throat, giving his wife a drawn out look that showed he really wasn’t happy with the way she had chosen to get him back, but at the same time he couldn’t really pitch a fit when he was the one who initiated the mischief to begin with.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Amelia… this means war.” His promise echoed something more chilling, which just made it sound way more dramatic than the situation really was, but Amelia felt a tickle of dread in the pit of her stomach at the realisation. There were going to be a lot more pranks to come.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia groaned, “Why did I have to marry the God of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mischief?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She mumbled to herself.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki was a master at pranks, and as such, he knew that the key to pulling one off was seeing things from his victim’s perspective in order to pick the opportune moment when they allowed their barriers to lower and reveal their vulnerability, or in this case, when they kept their guard up as high as it could be. He took advantage of it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>See, Amelia was smart, but she wasn’t as smart as </span>
  <em>
    <span>him.</span>
  </em>
  <span> At least not on the level of deception.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So when Amelia entered the communal living room that very next morning to the sight of Loki serving breakfast to his children - </span>
  <em>
    <span>cereal and fruit, because he couldn’t cook a thing without burning it - </span>
  </em>
  <span>she reacted with pure distrust when he offered her the cup of coffee he had made for her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia gave him a look, “Nice try. I’m not drinking that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki frowned, head tilting slightly as he played dumb, “What? But I made it just for you.” He looked down at the coffee, inspecting it carefully, “Did I put too much milk in?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His wife’s brown eyes narrowed, “No, but I know you’ve done something to it.” Her suspicion was incorrigible, just as Loki had expected it would be. “I’ll be making my </span>
  <em>
    <span>own </span>
  </em>
  <span>coffee, thanks.” She marched past him and headed to the kitchen, so Loki let out a quiet sigh and sat down in the armchair, watching the children. The twins sat on the couch, eating Fruit Loops with their fingers one at a time, with their eyes glued to the cartoons on the television, too oblivious to the tension between their parents.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki resisted the urge to glance over at Amelia in the kitchen as she prepared her own mug of coffee, he needed to remain inconspicuous, because if she caught him glancing over, she might become even more wary.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He successfully kept his eyes away and she eventually returned to the sitting area, hands wrapped around her cup of steaming coffee as she sat in the armchair opposite him on the other side of the sofa. She looked at him smugly, as though she had won this round and evaded one of his pranks, and he enabled her to think this, looking at the coffee he had made for her that had been rejected, with a despondent look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia smiled, blew gently on the surface of her coffee, and then took a large sip.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She promptly spat it all back out into her cup, sputtering and coughing with a look of disgust on her face; the children stared at her with wide eyes, none the wiser to what had gone down, while Loki’s lips formed into a complacent, superior grin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the f-!?” Amelia just about stopped herself from yelling an obscenity in front of the kids, and stared down at her coffee in revulsion and confusion, “What did you </span>
  <em>
    <span>do?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She pinned Loki immediately, her tone beyond accusatory.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Loki stated calmly, and picked up the mug he had initially offered to Amelia. He took a long sip and then smacked his lips, sighing as if in satisfaction, “Is there a problem with your coffee, love?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia glared hard at him, looked down at her revolting coffee, then over at the kitchen, then back to her husband. “You swapped the sugar with salt, didn’t you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yes. He had done exactly that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I did no such thing,” Loki claimed, shrugging his shoulders innocently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Perhaps Amelia should’ve trusted him in the first place when he offered her the perfectly normal coffee he had made - but he’d known her misgivings after last night would lead her to doubt him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His wife grumbled under her breath and stormed back to the kitchen to rearrange the salt and sugar into their proper containers so that nobody else would fall victim to Loki’s treachery.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki smirked, pleased with himself at having gotten back at his wife. Aster and Kari looked confusedly at him, the two of them clearly having difficulty understanding what they had just witnessed, so he gave them a charming smile and told them to continue watching their cartoons.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t easy to embarrass Loki, but Amelia had an idea. She wasn’t entirely sure if it would even work, and it was more of a joke than a prank, but if Loki did take the bait, it would be at his own expense because Amelia wouldn’t let him live it down so easily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Come lunch time, when the communal living room was filled with Avengers, Amelia chose to strike.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She pet Aster and Kari on their heads and left them to their colouring with their crayons and colouring pages on the living room rug, and set her sights on Loki who was sat reading a book, minding his own business.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tony, Clint and Natasha were also present in the room, and Amelia had waited specifically for more people to be around as she felt her little joke would go over better with an audience. A small part of her hoped Loki </span>
  <em>
    <span>wouldn’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>fall for the joke, because it would reveal something important regarding how Loki felt about a certain part of her body.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was the only ‘prank’ she could think of currently, however. She still hadn’t gotten the taste of salty coffee out of her mouth.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While the children were suitably distracted, she slinked up behind the couch and leaned over the back playfully, peering over Loki’s shoulder, “Hey darling, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally </span>
  </em>
  <span>figured out why my boobs are too small,” she spoke, her voice open and inviting and unassuming.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She noticed several heads of the Avengers lift up at the remark in her peripheral, but Loki was predictably distracted by his book and only half paying attention. “Hmm? Why?” Was the God of Mischief’s innocent response, not even looking up from the pages of the novel.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The friendly smile melted off of Amelia’s face at once when he </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>take the bait.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What do you mean WHY?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia’s tone was just shy of shouting, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>drew Loki’s attention away from his book; he looked up over his shoulder with an almost startled expression, locking eyes with her furious glare, and he realised then what he had said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His eyes flickered down to her chest and then back up to her face, and then he glanced quickly to the other occupants of the room. Stark and Clint were staring at him with concerned looks, while Natasha was fighting to hide a smirk.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki looked back to his wife, and then plastered a forced smile over his face, “Love, I didn’t mean-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>what you meant. You think my boobs are too small.” Amelia muttered, fully prepared to give her husband the silent treatment for the rest of the day for that little mistake.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now, hold on-” Loki tried again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>try</span>
  </em>
  <span> to talk your way out of this,” Amelia hissed, knowing her husband had the tendency to weasel out of things by utilising his silver-tongue. Well he couldn’t sweet-talk his way out of this one.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki held his tongue for a moment, a look of consideration passing over his face as he once again skimmed the nosy gazes of his fellow Avengers before his eyes settled on the children; the slightly guilty gleam in his eyes suggested he knew he had fucked up, but it grew bright and eloquent again as an idea occurred to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He placed down the book and stood quickly, “Stark, watch the children for a while,” he demanded, hearing the man’s confused response of ‘uh, okay’ before grabbing his wife’s arm and leading her out of the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s this all about?” Loki questioned Amelia as he led her to the elevator down the hall.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia did not answer, and had her arms crossed over her chest as she walked rigidly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come now, Amelia. You don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>believe that I think you have small breasts, do you?” He tried gently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia pursed her lips.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Darling?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...I wasn’t expecting you to actually take the bait,” Amelia grumbled, “You did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>pass the test.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki raised an eyebrow as they stepped into the elevator and he hit the button for their floor, “I wasn’t even paying attention, I clearly didn’t mean what I said.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia nibbled her bottom lip, wondering if that was actually true. Had she actually tricked him into admitting how he truly felt about the size of her boobs, or had he barely been paying attention and didn’t mean what he had said?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why are we going to our room?” Amelia asked instead, keeping her voice terse to show her displeasure.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki urged her out of the lift when it reached their stop, nudging her in the direction of their bedroom, and leaned in to murmur in her ear, “You told me not to talk my way out of this, so instead I’m going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>show </span>
  </em>
  <span>you why I think the size of your breasts are absolutely perfect.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His words caused her stomach to flutter, and for the next half an hour or so, he used his tongue to worship every inch of Amelia’s skin, paying special attention to her breasts, sucking and nibbling her nipples to the musical sound of her moans.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After shedding both their clothing and spending a little time beneath the sheets, Loki curled up to Amelia’s side and sucked a hickey into her neck; he fondled her chest with a gentle hand and murmured, “You see? They are perfectly sized… even if they are a little on the smaller side.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The fog of pleasure cleared from Amelia’s head at the latter half of Loki’s statement and she growled in the back of her throat, batting his hand away and slipping out from under the covers to quickly redress.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wh- love. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Love, </span>
  </em>
  <span>come on I was just joking. I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>kidding. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Darling!” Loki tried to backtrack as he reached to drag her back into bed, but she slipped out of his attempts to pull her back in and silently seethed while she got her clothes back on. She ended up storming out of the room while Loki tried to apologise, and returned grumpily to the communal living room where she forced a smile and greeted her kids when they rushed to show her the pages they had coloured using crayons.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tony approached cautiously, seeing the irritation hidden behind her expression, and spotted the mark on her neck, “Uh, what’s that, Bubbles?” He enquired, knowing full well what it was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia hesitated. “It’s a snake bite.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Snake bite?” Tony blinked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sound of footsteps echoed down the corridor.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yep. And here comes the snake.” She spoke her quip just before Loki re-entered the room in a huff. Natasha and Clint howled with laughter.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia managed to stay mad at Loki for a whole twenty-four hours before she allowed his jest to blow over and forgave him, the children were thankfully none the wiser to the little disagreement between their parents and life continued as normal for all of five days, until Loki and Amelia took their children to the mall to do some shopping.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I want this one mama,” Kari declared, holding up an outfit that appeared to be based on Kristoff from Frozen as the four of them strode through the dress-up aisle in the toy store.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You wanna be Kristoff? Okay, put it in the cart. What about you, Aster? Who do you wanna be?” Amelia asked, flicking through the many colourful Disney princess dresses on the rack, “There’s Anna and Elsa, or there’s Sleeping Beauty… Snow White? Which one do you want, darling?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster walked back and forth, her eyes prowling over the dresses before her with intense interest until eventually she pulled on the fabric of a sparkly light green dress and looked back at her mother with an expectant gaze. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia picked the hanger off the rack and showed the dress in all its glory, “This is Princess Tiana’s dress from the Princess and the Frog, you haven’t seen that movie yet, is it definitely the one you want?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster nodded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia looked up and smirked towards Loki who was pushing the cart, her eyes conveying her amused thoughts - that Aster only wanted the dress because it was green, her favourite colour.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki shared the knowing smile, “Well, it is a very pretty dress.” He took it from Amelia and added it to the cart on top of the Kristoff costume and prepared to follow after his wife and the kids as they began heading down the end of the aisle, but stopped when something caught his eye. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the shelf opposite where the outfits were hanging, there were packs of all sorts of different styles of wigs, many different hair colours, short and long, straight and curly. Loki gazed at them curiously for a few seconds before a light bulb sprung to life in his mind and he quickly checked to make sure Amelia wasn’t looking his way before picking off a pack containing a wig that had a very similar colour and level of curliness - the same of which Amelia’s hair had.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had a plan. A way to get Amelia back for her pitiful </span>
  <em>
    <span>prank </span>
  </em>
  <span>from the other day. He hid the wig below the costumes and caught up to his family; he offered to get everything packed up and paid for while Amelia returned to where their driver had parked and got the kids settled back into the car. She was oblivious to his blossoming prank idea when he rejoined them in the car with the shopping bags.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki expected his prank would cause a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot </span>
  </em>
  <span>of swearing and yelling on Amelia’s part, so he sensibly decided to wait until the children were sound asleep and he and Amelia had headed downstairs to the communal living room for the evening, and therefore didn’t have to worry about the children being awoken by Amelia’s furious shouts that would soon be echoing throughout the lower levels of the Avengers Tower.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They sat and watched the television for a while, Amelia was cuddled up to Loki’s side getting very comfortable and dozy, and eventually Loki slipped off the couch under the guise that he was heading to the kitchen to grab a drink, and while he was out of Amelia’s eyesight, he pulled the wig out of his inner pocket and used a pair of scissors to cut a lock from it. Perfect.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He returned to the sitting area and tiptoed up behind the couch, and make a snipping noise with the scissors right at the base of Amelia’s neck; she flinched away immediately and practically dived forwards, turning to stare over her shoulder with eyes as wide as saucers as Loki held the scissors up in one hand and the lock of hair in his other.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you just did what I think you just did, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you better not have.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia’s voice was dangerously quiet and composed. The calm before the storm, Loki presumed. She lifted her hand and felt her hair near the base of her neck, feeling it for any signs that Loki had </span>
  <em>
    <span>actually </span>
  </em>
  <span>just cut a lock of her hair off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She patted her neck with increasing wildness, uncertain and unable to tell herself whether she was missing a chunk of hair - it was difficult for her to discern with such messy, curly tresses in the first place.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Loki, tell me you fucking didn’t,” Amelia practically begged, her voice now tinged with anger.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki smirked a cruel smirk, “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>did,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>he lied. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia’s face scrunched up in fury at once, “What the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why!?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki’s evil grin persisted, “Revenge. Payback. Whatever you want to call it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You fucking </span>
  <em>
    <span>asshole! </span>
  </em>
  <span>You actually cut my fucking hair!? How the fuck can this be considered payback when you’ve gone </span>
  <em>
    <span>way too far? Fuck you!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia predictably let loose with the expletives, throwing them out left right and centre, all the while Loki stood there clutching the fake lock of hair. Really, if Amelia had looked just a little harder she would’ve been able to tell that the colour of the strands were slightly off, but she was too consumed by her rage to notice that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think the punishment fits the crime. Tricking me into saying you have small breasts and then giving me the silent treatment for the rest of the day was deserving of something more severe, I think.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>murder </span>
  </em>
  <span>you,” Amelia spat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can’t. It’s basically impossible for you to overpower me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>murder you in your sleep,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Amelia rectified, her eyes welling up with moisture from just how outraged she was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You forget that your every move is horrendously loud, you cannot sneak up on me even when I’m sleeping. How exactly do you plan to murder me?” Loki continued to taunt her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia stood up suddenly and prowled around the couch like a cheetah ready to pounce, her eyes were on the scissors in Loki’s hand and there was a treacherous glimmer in her gaze, “Maybe I’ll just cut your hair in return. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m sure you’d fucking love that.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki raised the scissors out of Amelia’s reach preemptively before she could even think to tackle him in an attempt to snatch them, “As if you would do anything to ruin my hair, like you aren’t constantly gushing about how pretty it looks and how you want to braid it every day,” Loki pointed out, “You’re just giving me empty threats at this point.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will shave your fucking head to get back at you. I don’t care if you look ugly when you’re bald. You cut </span>
  <em>
    <span>my </span>
  </em>
  <span>hair without my permission, I’m literally planning your untimely demise and you’re stupid if you think I’m lying,” Amelia growled lowly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki faltered, wondering if he had maybe gone a little too far with pretending to cut Amelia’s hair. Perhaps it was time to reveal that it was all just a harmless, silly prank and that her hair was all still completely intact.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Amelia, I’m just kidding.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t stop giving him her absolutely lethal stare, and in fact only looked angrier at his admittance, “Shut the fuck up. You can’t backtrack now.” She didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>believe </span>
  </em>
  <span>that he had just been joking around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Amelia, I’m serious, it’s just a prank. Of course I didn’t cut your hair,” Loki pulled the party wig out of his pocket, revealing the truth to Amelia, and she stared at the mess of fake hair with a perplexed expression.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It slowly dawned on Amelia that he had just been messing around, and Loki was amused by the palpable comprehension in her gaze; she blinked a few times and then let out a vexed growl which was all too funny. Loki laughed. Amelia grew even madder.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This fucking close, Loki,” she seethed, holding her thumb and forefinger half an inch apart, “this fucking close to a divorce.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki threw his head back in another fit of laughter, “I know you don’t mean that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just you fucking wait,” Amelia snarled, “you’re gonna regret that.” She was definitely not in a playful mood, she hadn’t appreciated his prank, and she certainly wasn’t going to admit that it was in any way funny even though it was ultimately harmless.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really, Amelia?” Loki smirked, “You still aren’t going to give up? I will win this prank war, I am the </span>
  <em>
    <span>God of Mischief, </span>
  </em>
  <span>there is no practical joke you can play that will be superior to anything </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>can come up with. You can’t outwit </span>
  <em>
    <span>me.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jesus fuckin’ Christ, if your ego got any bigger you’d literally explode,” Amelia snapped as she jabbed him in the chest with a finger, “you sound awfully confident for somebody who’s gonna have to sleep with one eye open for the rest of his damn life.” With that, Amelia stormed past him and left the room, her voice filled with dangerous promises.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki lifted an eyebrow. Amelia was getting better at her threats, too bad Loki knew she couldn’t easily get the upper hand, even when he was asleep - he was too alert even in his unconscious state, so he wasn’t exactly worried.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>As loathe as Amelia was to admit it, she didn’t actually want to shave Loki’s head in his sleep; his hair </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>too pretty to be ruined, even though it would eventually grow back, but she wasn’t so cruel that she would actually chop off his hair in response to him pretending to chop off hers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It left Amelia at a bit of an impasse, because she was struggling to come up with a good way to prank her husband back; the fact that she was having difficulty thinking of something made her even more irritated because it was, in effect, proving her husband right in his ego-driven remarks about him being better than her at practical jokes. She was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to let him continue to think that. She needed to come up with </span>
  <em>
    <span>something.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t until about three weeks later that something finally came to her mind, and by then Loki was less suspicious of her at all times because enough time had passed that he probably assumed she had given up. The idea struck her when, in the middle of a little arts and crafts session with the children, Loki had grimly made a comment about how glitter was so annoying and that it simply got </span>
  <em>
    <span>everywhere, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and how annoyed he was that it had somehow gotten on him when he was the opposite side of the room to where Aster and Amelia were, at that point, sprinkling it over their glue-smeared paper.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So, Loki despised glitter, huh? That little snippet of information gave Amelia an idea.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a system at Avengers Tower that dictated whether or not mail addressed to anybody within the building would reach its recipient. Being the superhero organisation that they were, there was a certain level of discretion they had to reserve for receiving mail so that it wouldn’t be easy for any bad guys to mail anything harmful into the building. It all went through a special machine that scanned the contents of envelopes and packages for anything suspicious, and the things that turned out to be innocuous were then sorted into a crate which the Avengers sifted through every now and then.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was kind of fun, because at least eighty percent of everything in the crate ended up being fan mail, and the children loved to watch everybody open them up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia used this little postal system to her advantage.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the day the Avengers next opened their mail, Amelia slipped by the crate as Tony wheeled it into the communal living room, and she covertly dropped a special envelope into the mix - it was addressed to Loki, with the Avengers Tower building address on the front, she’d even gotten one of the building’s staff members to write out the name and recipient location on the very likely chance that Loki was to recognise her hand-writing. Tony gave her a weird look, but she subtly held a finger to her lips, silently asking him not to mention it; his curious expression turned wary as he understood that this must have been to do with her next ingenious prank.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The mail-opening session went ahead as normal with each of the Avengers occasionally reading a letter out loud and having a laugh when they read something funny.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whoa, hey,” Steve said after a while, looking down at the unfolded paper in his hands, “this one must’ve gotten lost in the post, it’s pretty old. They’re saying thank you for all working together to defeat Thanos.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia felt Loki stiffen beside her, and she didn’t blame him, hearing that monster’s name after all these years made her own heart stutter in her chest out of pure fear. It had been so long, and yet not long enough for the mention of that big purple son of a bitch’s name to not still implant a sense of terror in her body.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A silence fell on the room. Incidentally she and Loki weren’t the only ones that felt that way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who is Tah-noss?” Kari asked with innocent curiosity. Aster also paused digging through all the mail to listen for an answer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nobody,” Loki answered rigidly and all too quickly. He was glaring at Steve for even bringing that name up to begin with.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The tension in the room was thick, so thick that you could cut it with a knife, so Amelia quickly sought to dissipate it, “Just another bad guy that your daddy helped take down,” she told the kids with a forced smile. She clapped her hands together, as if the action itself would help banish the negative thoughts trickling through the room, “Right, let’s grab some more mail, huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tony agreed and reached into the crate, finally pulling the envelope Amelia had added to the pile at the beginning of the session, and he locked eyes with her. She smiled innocently, so Tony handed the letter to Aster, proclaiming, “This one’s for yah dad, kid.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster skipped over to her father and held out the envelope with a big smile, happy that her daddy had some mail to open, and Amelia quickly sweeped the girl up to sit on her lap, craftily shifting a few inches away from her husband to avoid getting any of the imminent mess on herself or her daughter.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki inspected the envelope, turning it over in his hands before taking the letter opener and slicing it open. He pulled the card out and raised an eyebrow at the print on the front of a teddy bear holding a banner that said ‘thank you’ in bubbly, colourful writing. Without suspecting a single thing, Loki opened up the card and recoiled in an instant when he was immediately showered with a lovely mix of glitter and tiny pieces of confetti.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It went </span>
  <em>
    <span>all over him. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Stray pieces went all over his clothes, his face, there were even bits in his hair; he looked like a unicorn had vomited all over him. There were echoes of hysterical laughter as the other Avengers in the room basked in amusement - Clint was particularly jovial about it and was slapping his knee as he guffawed - and Aster merely let out a soft gasp, followed by one quiet word.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pretty.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A fresh wave of delight rolled over Amelia and she hugged Aster tightly to her chest amidst her giggling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki blinked - </span>
  <em>
    <span>there was glitter in his eyelashes </span>
  </em>
  <span>- and read the words inside the card, which were distinctly Amelia’s handwriting.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘You’ll be finding glitter in your asscrack for years to come. Don’t test me.’</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki slowly locked eyes with his wife, and all he saw in her gaze was smug determination. He should never have underestimated her.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>A month passed, Amelia fell sick with a stomach bug for a few days and was unable to really get out of bed because she just felt too weak. Loki dutifully took care of her and looked after the kids by himself so that his wife had time to sleep and recuperate, but on the third day of her illness, she woke up in the morning feeling just a little bit better and determined to get up and out of bed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki woke up behind her and kissed her shoulder, stroking her arm gently. “How are you feeling? Can I get you anything?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia moaned quietly, “I’m okay… I’d appreciate it if you could run me a toasty bath.” It would be good to sink into the pleasing warmth of heated water and allow her body to soak and cleanse after feeling so awful the past few days.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki hummed and paused. “A toasty bath? ...Yes, I can do that love,” he told her, shifting to get up and out of bed, and after a moment he added, “I just need to go check on the kids first, and then I’ll get your bath ready.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sounded so sincere and gentle that Amelia didn’t really question the underlying odd tone of his voice as he got up, and her sleep-addled body didn’t really help. “M’okie, thank you.” Loki left the room, and after only a few minutes, Amelia fell back into a light doze.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was awoken again an indistinguishable amount of time later to Loki knelt in front of her softly tapping on her arm to rouse her. He held a warm smile on his handsome face and Amelia gazed over his shoulder to see the children standing behind him, looking slightly sheepish and giggly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sight was suspect, but Amelia felt groggy and unable to think straight, she must have just been falling into a deeper sleep again when Loki woke her, so she didn’t really dwell on it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your bath is ready, love. Do you need help getting up?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia nodded sleepily and Loki helpfully aided her in sitting up. He grabbed her dressing gown to keep her warm on the short walk from the bed to the bathroom and offered his arm to escort her to her bath. Amelia yawned and held onto him as she stood, taking a moment to stand still as a slight dizziness passed over her for just a few seconds before subsiding. Her stomach felt a bit weird, but Amelia refused to suffer another day of endlessly throwing up so she took a few deep breaths until the feeling passed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki helped her to the bathroom. The children followed along behind them, to Amelia’s confusion, but she focused on walking rather than the sound of their impish tittering. Her husband held the door open and led her into the bathroom and up to the bath, and Amelia looked down to where the tub </span>
  <em>
    <span>should </span>
  </em>
  <span>have been filled with nice hot water.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t filled with nice hot water.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instead, there were about ten pieces of toast scattered across the bottom of the tub.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia blinked in tired confusion, eyes narrowed at the perplexing sight. The children burst into louder giggles behind her and she looked up at Loki with a questioning expression, murmuring a quiet, “What?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hm? Oh, you said you wanted a toasty bath. So I made you one.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The children were squealing now, apparently </span>
  <em>
    <span>beyond </span>
  </em>
  <span>amused at what Loki had set up in the tub. It took all too long for Amelia to actually understand the joke, and when she did she massaged the bridge of her nose and groaned. From the way the kids were laughing, Amelia could only assume they were in on the joke and Loki had recruited them to carry toast all the way from the kitchen to the en suite bathroom in Amelia’s and Loki’s room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Really?” Amelia moaned, “This is a waste of food.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki put his hands on Amelia’s shoulders, holding her steady; he gave her a kiss on the cheek and spoke, “Well you should’ve been clearer with your instructions, love. Here, go lie down on the bed again and I’ll run you a real bath, alright?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia sighed, a little upset that she was going to have to wait another few minutes before she could sink into a lovely hot bath and soak, but a small part of her did find the joke kind of funny, “Alright.” She </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> thankful that he had gone easy on her with his prank this time.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki stretched as he walked into the communal living room, freshly showered after his intense morning workout in the training room, and spied Amelia with their children in the sitting area. She had a board with a series of shapes on it and the children were giving her their rapt attention as she taught them the geometric names.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This one’s a hexagon, and you can tell because it has </span>
  <em>
    <span>six </span>
  </em>
  <span>sides.” She proceeded to count each individual side while pointing to it, “Hexagon, can you say that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hetsagon!” Kari exclaimed, his pronunciation just a little off like usual.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s right!” Amelia matched the boy’s excitable energy and then pointed to the triangle on her board and addressed her daughter, “Aster, can you tell me what this shape is called?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Aster nibbled on her fingers shyly but quietly answered, “Triangle.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely right!” Amelia praised, “You two are getting good at this, aren’t you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki smiled. Aster was speaking more and more often nowadays, and while she often remained quiet and hesitant, the fact that she was making an effort to speak verbally as opposed to using sign language was a clear indication of progress. Loki was sure to encourage her use of sign language alongside speaking verbally as it was a good skill to know multiple languages, and it could definitely come in handy in the future for whatever reason.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki headed to the kitchen area, intent on grabbing a nice cool drink from the fridge, but he passed by the counter and spied a box of cakes just sitting there presumably for anybody to help themselves to. He had had them before when Amelia bought them once and they were quite delicious, spectacularly rich chocolate sponge cakes dipped in melted chocolate and covered with chocolate shavings. It was an immensely sugary treat and the pull to open it up and grab one was just too much for Loki, especially since he had just finished training and his body craved a quick energy boost.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He opened the lid of the box and rapidly deflated at its barren sight. No cakes remained, instead there was a note left at the bottom of the box. </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘Haha. Too slow. No choccy cakes for you.’</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki lifted his head and spotted Amelia subtly glancing over her shoulder at him; she quickly looked away and hid her sneaky grin and Loki sighed, rolling his eyes as he headed for the fridge instead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When would this stupid prank war end? At least </span>
  <em>
    <span>he</span>
  </em>
  <span> was more creative with his pranks. Eating the last of the chocolate cakes was hardly a </span>
  <em>
    <span>prank, </span>
  </em>
  <span>it was just rude and spiteful and </span>
  <em>
    <span>petty. </span>
  </em>
  <span>He needed to come up with something that would put an end to Amelia’s pitiful attempts to prank him, she would not take the proverbial trophy as the Goddess of Mischief while he still lived.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And so, he took advantage of a few tidbits of information that only he knew about Amelia.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia was by no means cowardly, but she had a few secret fears that Loki simply did not understand. Obviously her phobia of spiders was no secret, she often reacted irrationally at the sight of the furry little scuttling creatures which were merely a thousandth of her size and meant her absolutely no harm, and as such Kari had inherited the very same fear. Seeing his mother freaking out at the sight of the arachnids made him react similarly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A </span>
  <em>
    <span>secret </span>
  </em>
  <span>fear of Amelia’s, however, was a certain fictional character from a horror movie series that Loki and his wife had sat down to watch one night. The movie was </span>
  <em>
    <span>A Nightmare on Elm Street, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and at the time of watching, Amelia had flinched a few times at the sight of the scarred serial killing man who murdered people in their dreams, Freddy Krueger, but beyond that she hadn’t shown any reactions that she was truly terrified of him. Until that night when they went to bed and Amelia laid awake for almost the entire night, scared to fall asleep in case the murderous maniac came for her in her dreams.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was completely illogical for her, an adult woman in her thirties, to be so terrified of a </span>
  <em>
    <span>fictional </span>
  </em>
  <span>character, but no matter how much Loki had tried to reassure her that she shouldn’t be afraid, it hadn’t seemed to work.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Well if he comes for you, I’ll just kill him,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Loki had attempted to comfort her at two o’clock in the morning after she had tossed and turned and whined about the various shadows in the room looking like figures in the darkness. It hadn’t worked, her response was incredibly frustrating.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“How will you be able to kill him if he’s in my dream!? You won’t even know I’m being murdered until I’m already dead and lying in my own blood!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>She whimpered pathetically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Amelia, you can’t be serious.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Loki couldn’t believe the words coming from his wife’s mouth, it was as if she couldn’t separate fiction from reality. Loki </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew </span>
  </em>
  <span>his wife wasn’t that stupid. Eventually, he just ignored her occasional anxious murmurs and fell asleep, figuring she would wear herself out and fall asleep too at some point, and then she would wake up and see that she was perfectly fine and had nothing to worry about.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Except she awoke in the throes of a terrible nightmare that morning, claiming Freddy Krueger had been after her. Similar nightmares persisted for at least a week before she began to settle on the reality of the situation, which was that Freddy Krueger did not exist and could not harm her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki tried to be empathetic to her terror, knowing that he had suffered nightmares long after the death of Thanos and that despite knowing logically that Thanos could not come back, those terrible dreams still gave him sleepless nights for a long time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But at least Thanos had been a </span>
  <em>
    <span>real </span>
  </em>
  <span>threat. The only threat that Freddy Krueger posed was based in Amelia’s imagination.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That had been months and months ago, and the creepy killer had long since escaped Amelia’s mind, unable to terrorise her unless something were to reignite that fear. Perhaps Loki’s idea was a bit too cruel, but Amelia had done some questionable things in her bid to out-prank him in the past, and maybe going a little too far would encourage the prank war to come to an end.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that in mind, Loki ordered a life-size cardboard cutout of Freddy Krueger off the internet - when Stark had inquired about the odd expense, Loki had simply told him to shut up and keep it quiet - and he waited for the opportune moment to scare his beloved wife out of her socks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He rallied up the kids one Sunday afternoon and informed them furtively that he was going to prank their mother once again; the children looked gleeful and it was that very look that cemented how alike his children were to him, he wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up as little Demigods of Mischief in the making.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki ushered his children into the en suite bathroom of his and Amelia’s bedroom and had them hide around one side of the doorframe, peeking into the bedroom, while he hid around the other side with the cardboard cut-out in hand, facing it away from the children just in case the sight gave them nightmares as well. They didn’t need to know what was printed on the cut-out, just that it was something that would scare their mother.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The children remained impressively quiet as they waited for their mother to return to the room - Amelia had mentioned grabbing a special delivery from the mail-sorting room and that she would be back up in just a few minutes. It tickled Loki a bit that the only time he could truly get his kids to be still and quiet was amidst the playing of a practical joke. Kari even had his hand over his mouth to make sure he didn’t say a word or make a sound. Loki supposed Aster was used to being quiet anyway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki kept his ears open, waiting for the telltale noise of the elevator doors sliding open down the hall or the footsteps of his wife approaching, and when a hint of noise reached his ears he signalled his kids and pressed a finger over his lip, noiselessly telling them that it was time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A few moments passed and then the entrance to the bedroom opened and Amelia walked into the room, carrying something in her arms, “Hellooo? Where’d everyone go?” She called when she realised nobody was present, but before she could turn and check for them in the kids room, Loki nodded his head to the kids and shifted the Freddy Krueger cut-out into the doorway in plain view of Amelia, and at the same time all three of the pranksters made a startling roaring noise to truly make Amelia jump out of her skin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What followed was a piercing scream, and then the sound of something fragile breaking into a million pieces.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Uh oh.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki threw the cardboard cut-out face down and stepped out of the bathroom, looking for what had broken and found his wife with her hand over her heart, breathing heavily and staring down at what must have been a ceramic vase in pieces.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The kids scrambled out of the bathroom, looking sheepish as if they knew they were in trouble, and Loki swallowed, expecting to get an earful from Amelia after this. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>hadn’t been intending for anything to be broken in the process, he just wanted to scare his wife and then laugh at her over the top reaction to a piece of cardboard.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instead, Amelia’s eyes welled up with tears and she started crying. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki’s eyes grew wide at the sight, knowing he’d seriously screwed up, and he tentatively took a few steps forward to comfort his wife, “Love? I’m sorry-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She shrugged his hand off sharply and then buried her face in her hands, and Loki peered back at the kids who looked devastated that they’d helped to make their mother cry, in fact they looked only moments away from crying themselves.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I… I really didn’t mean for anything to break,” Loki tried gently, hesitantly reaching out again to touch Amelia’s arm. She didn’t nudge his hand away this time, but she sniffled to show that she was genuinely tearful behind her hands and not fake crying at all.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was an expensive beautiful vase. I was going to display it on the dresser and fill it with flowers.” Her words were tight and rigid, and it felt as though Amelia was using every ounce of strength to not scream expletives in his face, “What is </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong </span>
  </em>
  <span>with you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki rubbed the back of his neck, “I’ll buy you another, darling. I promise.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia finally peered between her fingers and saw the looks on the kids faces, “You shouldn’t be dragging the children into your awful </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘pranks’. </span>
  </em>
  <span>You’re gonna buy me a new vase and then you’re going to tell the kids that what you did was wrong and that none of you should ever do that again, understand?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t often that Amelia reprimanded him in such a way, but he supposed he could have crafted his prank better and ensured Amelia wasn’t holding anything heavy, fragile and expensive before putting his plan into action, so he swallowed his pride and nodded his head, “Understood.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia wiped her tears away and sighed grimly, kneeling down to pick up the broken pieces before any little feet ended up stepping on them.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>A sin such as the one Loki committed deserved some scathing retribution. Amelia wasn’t going to play games with her next prank, she was going to go all the way and ruin her husband’s day because after breaking her brand new pretty vase, he well and truly deserved to be punished.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was the childrens’ fourth birthday, January 24th 2024, and the twin’s birthday dinner consisted of takeout pizza from a very fancy pizza place that Tony had recommended, a place that used only the finest ingredients and the owner of which Tony knew personally. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So, Tony had been sweet enough to throw Aster and Kari a little party at his own expenses, one that all the Avengers were invited to, and he had called up his fancy pizza place to personally order a bunch of pizzas for each of the invitees. From medium and large sized pizzas, to a bunch of sides, and then finally a small personal pizza each for Aster and Kari.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were to be spoilt that day, naturally. Not to mention, the big ice-cream cake they were going to have a hand in devouring after dinner. The kids were excited, and Loki was happy for the incoming pizza as it was one food that held a special place in his heart.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia was still salty about her broken vase. Loki had admitted his wrongdoing and ordered her the exact same expensive vase, but it wasn’t due to be delivered for another few days and now the bouquet of flowers she had ordered especially for it had to be placed in a plain vase and they just simply weren’t as elegant of a decoration.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe she was going overboard, but Loki needed a metaphorical kick in the butt to stop him from pulling all his abhorrent pranks, and so Amelia stooped to his level and chose to play extra dirty.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She excused herself to the bathroom shortly after Tony had ordered everyone’s pizza over the phone and zipped away to the closest restroom, pulling out her phone to dial the pizza place back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a moment, an Italian-sounding man picked up and answered, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Hello, this is Francesco’s Pizza, would you like to order?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, hello. I’m calling on behalf of Mr. Tony Stark, I’d actually like to modify the order slightly, I hope it’s not too late to do so?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a pause, and then the man responded, “That would be fine, ma’am, but I require your order number first.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course,” said Amelia, and then she rattled off the 12-digit order number that Tony had idly scribbled on a piece of paper in front of her several moments prior.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a moment of confirmation on the man’s part, he sounded satisfied, “That’s great, ma’am, how would you like me to change the order?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I would like for one of the large cheese pizzas to have chopped up ghost pepper added to the base sauce, please. Is that possible?” A devilish smile came over Amelia’s face at just how evil her plan was, but she kept her tone void of playfulness so as not to rouse suspicion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man on the phone sounded surprised, “Ma’am I must warn you, the ghost pepper is incredibly hot and should only be eaten by those who can tolerate-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m well aware, thank you,” Amelia interrupted, “That is what I would like, can you do that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes ma’am. Is that all you would like to change?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s all. Can you please mark the ghost-pepper pizza with an </span>
  <em>
    <span>L</span>
  </em>
  <span> on the edge of the box so that I know which one it is?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course, ma’am. The order should arrive at the Avengers Tower within half an hour.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia was very pleased with herself and promptly thanked the man, said goodbye and hung up. She was giddy with the fact that she was going to get back at her husband in quite a savage way, and if this wasn’t enough to stop him from continuing their stupid prank war, she didn’t know what would dissuade him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She returned to the living room where Tony was setting up the Nintendo Switch he had gifted the twins for their birthday and she snuggled up next to Loki, giving him a warm, deceitful smile that he misinterpreted as something soft and gentle, but was in actual fact spelling his doom.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Half an hour later, the pizza arrived and was brought up to the living room where the Avengers gathered around the dining table ready to dig in. Amelia spied the marked box, the </span>
  <em>
    <span>L </span>
  </em>
  <span>subtle enough on the side that nobody saw or questioned it, and she swiped it up quickly before any of the other Avengers could mistake it as their own.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With the ghost pepper-laced pizza in hand, she took the two small cheese pizzas and lovingly gave one to Aster and one to Kari, smiling sweetly at them as their eyes lit up with delight. Then, she handed the ghost pepper-laced pizza over to her husband who looked ravenously hungry.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here you go, darling, this one’s for you,” Amelia offered it to him in a melodic, innocent voice and Loki took it eagerly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, love.” He smiled back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No doubt the last wholesome, saccharine expression he would throw her way in quite a while.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia took her own pizza, sat down at the table, and waited while all the others dug into their food.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki, hungry as he was, wolfed down two whole slices before his face showed the beginnings of something wrong. He cleared his throat as he chewed and swallowed, frowning down at the pizza before him, making a noise of discomfort before coughing slightly into his hand; his gaze narrowed as he gave a few airy breaths and blinked his eyes a few times fast as the heat in his mouth no doubt began to grow with more and more speed and ferocity.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He coughed again, more loudly, and again. Loki looked more like he was choking, and the actions garnered attention from everybody else at the table.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, you okay Loki? You need help?” Steve enquired, surprised that Loki seemed to be having trouble getting his food down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is it stuck in your throat?” Bruce asked, standing up with the intent to give the Asgardian a few hard blows to his back to help it along.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki shook his head rapidly, denying that he was choking, but he was still coughing and drawing far too much attention to himself for his liking. Amelia knew he was about to find this extremely humiliating, and hid her wicked grin behind her hand, making it look as though she was concerned instead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dada?” Aster asked with quiet worry.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The legs of Loki’s chair skidded against the floor loudly as he stood suddenly and steadied himself with a hand on the table, his body buckled over slightly and he began to fan his mouth with his hand, panting aloud. There were </span>
  <em>
    <span>tears</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the corners of his eyes, Amelia noted with a sudden feeling of concern.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before anybody could say anything more, Loki quickly left the table, walking quickly to exit the room as calm and composed as possible, though he failed to do so when he ended up stumbling and more or less breaking into a run, and took off down the hall, presumably to the closest bathroom.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia blinked, mouth hanging open slightly. Oh. Had she fucked up? She didn’t think </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>was going to happen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, what the heck was all </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>about?” Clint wondered out loud.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia stood and grabbed the open pizza box, closing it up and walking round the table to hand it to Natasha, who took it with a hint of confusion on her face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t let anyone eat that,” Amelia warned, but didn’t explain further.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What did you </span>
  <em>
    <span>do?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Natasha asked as Amelia turned to follow her husband out of the room, so Amelia tried to force a look of innocence.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing!” She exclaimed with a shrug, totally unconvincing, and then mumbled, “Be right back!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She scurried off to find her suffering husband, a small part of her worried that she was going to find him rolling on the floor in agony from the sheer level of ghost pepper he had consumed without knowledge. Her instincts were correct that he had fled to the bathroom, because the door was ajar and he hadn’t bothered to lock it; when she entered she found him hunched over the toilet bowl, retching into it without dignity.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Honey?” Amelia murmured, stepping into the room carefully.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki heaved and gagged, taking a moment to glance over his shoulder and point at his mouth, barely able to speak as he choked out the word, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Hot.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Amelia winced at the sight of her husband’s face - his cheeks were pink and wet with tears, his nose was running and he was dribbling. It was evident that he had thrown up before she’d entered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely </span>
  </em>
  <span>fucked up. He was visibly in pain. She hadn’t wanted to </span>
  <em>
    <span>hurt </span>
  </em>
  <span>him, she hadn’t expected the spice of the ghost pepper to affect him </span>
  <em>
    <span>this </span>
  </em>
  <span>badly. Or had she? She was filled with guilt immediately, wondering if a small part of her </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>expected this and relished in the sight of Loki suffering after he had pulled his stunt that got her pretty vase smashed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t dwell on it for the moment, and kicked herself into gear, “I’ll be right back! Gonna grab some milk!” She knew the milk would help soothe the burning sensation in his throat and the least she could do at that moment was figure out a way to help correct her mistake.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia zipped back to the kitchen, passing the Avengers and her two confused, worried children to grab a carton of milk from the fridge. She gave her kids a reassuring smile and stated, “Daddy’s fine!” in the process.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The other Avengers were gathered around the pepper-laced pizza, trying to figure out what was wrong as the ghost peppers were not exactly visible since they’d been chopped too finely.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Don’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>eat any!” Amelia repeated.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tony looked irritated, “Amelia, are you going to tell me what’s up with this pizza or do I need to phone the pizza place?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia froze. She didn’t want the pizza place to receive any flak from Tony when it was entirely her fault, so she was forced to reveal her sabotage, “No! I… I may have called them after you ordered, to modify the order slightly…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“In what way?” Tony asked, accusatory.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Umm… I had them put ghost peppers in Loki’s pizza.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Ghost peppers!?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Tony raised his voice in exclamation as the others all stared at her in shock, “Are you trying to </span>
  <em>
    <span>kill </span>
  </em>
  <span>him!?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia flinched, the way Tony shouted reminded her of her father many years ago and she was rendered temporarily speechless. The children looked upset at what Tony had said, and Amelia swallowed tightly; Tony’s face softened and he shook his head as he saw the effect his shouting had on both Amelia and the kids.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Amelia, I’m sorry for yelling but I’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>had it </span>
  </em>
  <span>with your’s and Loki’s pranks. They need to stop, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>It was clear Tony was fed up about it all, from the mess of glitter all over his furniture, to pointlessly using up an entire loaf of bread from the fridge, he had every right to be mad.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I get it,” Amelia spoke, “I’m sorry. I’m gonna stop, I promise, but I gotta- um, I gotta help Loki…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go on, then. I can’t imagine he’s waiting with the utmost patience for you to return,” Tony remarked with a sigh. Amelia nodded and quickly zipped out of the room, rushing back to tend to her husband.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is daddy okay?” Kari asked nervously, the poor thing had never seen his father act in such a way and it naturally worried both him and his sister.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yah, he’ll be fine, kiddo. Don’t worry,” Tony assured the twins as he rubbed the back of his neck, “He’ll be back for the ice cream cake, no doubt.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Stark, don’t be too hard on Amelia,” Clint spoke up, “I mean… that was </span>
  <em>
    <span>hilarious, </span>
  </em>
  <span>wasn’t it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tony rolled his eyes as the other Avengers chuckled.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia reached the bathroom, announcing she had brought the soothing milk that would aid her husband. Loki looked even worse than the first time, his face had further reddened along with the rims of his eyes and he was panting endlessly, coughing and spitting into the toilet bowl every now and then. When Amelia held out the milk, Loki snatched it up and fumbled to unscrew the cap, then just straight up chugged almost half of the carton in one breath.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was quite a sight, and Amelia’s eyes widened as small streams of milk trailed from the corners of his lips. He gasped and wheezed with relief at the moderate level of alleviation the milk afforded him, and he groaned, using his sleeve to wipe his face free of all the tears, snot, saliva and milk.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, god, babe… are you okay?” Amelia tentatively asked, rubbing her hand in a circle on his back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki looked like he’d been dragged through a cosmic portal backwards, his eyes wide and red-rimmed, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“What happened?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>His clueless, incredulous expression sent another fresh wave of guilt through Amelia and she cringed slightly at the thought of admitting what she had done.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Darling, I… I’m so sorry…” Amelia murmured.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki looked at her with narrow eyes, curious and perplexed, “Huh?” He breathed, and then took another mouthful of milk as the heat began to crawl back up his throat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I… might have- this might be a prank gone wrong…” Amelia said it had gone wrong, but she was full of denial, because deep down she knew she had wanted to witness Loki lose his mind at the unbearable heat of a ridiculously hot pepper.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki looked at her with wide eyes, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“What?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>he rasped.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia pouted, rubbing his back apologetically still, and admitted her guilt, “I called back the pizza place after Tony ordered… and asked them to add ghost pepper to your pizza,” she paused, “ghost pepper is, um, a </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>hot chilli pepper.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki looked momentarily betrayed, the look on his face that of pure disbelief, and then he lowered his gaze, a sickly expression passing briefly over him, “You… you added a really hot… pepper to my pizza… knowing the effect it… has on me?” He huffed and puffed, wanting to make sure he heard his wife correctly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia frowned shamefully, “Yeah… I’m so sorry, Loki.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki covered his face with one hand, breathing out a slow sigh. After a few seconds, his shoulders shook slightly and the unmistakable sound of chuckling escaped him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia’s eyes widened like saucers, “Uh, babe?” What did he possibly find so funny?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Loki shook his head, and then groaned again, “I give up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia blinked, “Huh?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I give up. I concede defeat. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>surrender.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Loki responded, “You win. You win the prank war. I’m afraid of what you might do next if I allow this to continue.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia’s jaw hung open. She couldn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>believe </span>
  </em>
  <span>it. How was Loki not tearing her head off? She was speechless.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If it wasn’t for the fact that you </span>
  <em>
    <span>ruined </span>
  </em>
  <span>my pizza, I would be proud of you. Truly, you’re… </span>
  <em>
    <span>terrifyingly </span>
  </em>
  <span>mischievous.” He gulped down more milk, “Why did it have to be the pizza?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Amelia pouted again, disgraced that she had pulled the ultimate horrible prank and Loki was </span>
  <em>
    <span>praising </span>
  </em>
  <span>her for it while he continued to suffer in his condition, “You can have my pizza, babe. It’s pepper-free, I promise.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It better be.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>For reference, the Scoville scale for Jalapeno peppers is 8,000 at most, and the ghost pepper, aka one of the world’s hottest chili peppers, is rated 1,000,000. Amelia is truly EVIL. </p><p>This chapter is the last bit of joy and hilarity before the angst strikes next chapter so, prepare yourselves ;)</p><p>Please comment!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>As always, please drop me a comment to let me know what you think - feedback makes everything easier!</p>
<p>And if you have any more ideas you want to see with Amelia and Loki, feel free to suggest them as I'm still taking ideas!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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